Indie Interview: Oxford City Farm
I had the pleasure of speaking to Bradley Soule, Community Grower (Market Garden and Animal Lead) at Oxford City Farm, to learn more about the community-led charity.
Let’s start with a bit of an introduction to Oxford City Farm.
Oxford City Farm is a charity based in East Oxford that opened in 2008. It is located just off Iffley Road (which used to be Donnington Bridge Middle School) and covers 2.5 acres of land.
About 8-10 years ago, a few members of the community approached the county council to discuss how they could make better use of the site, as it had been neglected for years. Things escalated from there, which is how Oxford City Farm came to be.
The farm is all about bringing together the community around the idea of food.
How does Oxford City Farm engage with and support the local community?
Volunteering programme: volunteers are the core of the farm, and this is done informally. People are welcome to come on Fridays and Saturdays from 10:00-13:00 for our open volunteering sessions, and everyone is welcome (no matter what your physical ability is, as the farm will find an acceptable activity).
Open Days: this is a chance for people to enjoy the space if they do not want to volunteer. We have a café on site and run a farmers’ market on Saturdays where visitors can buy produce, coffee, and cake.
Other skilled volunteering: people can come in to help grow vegetables across the week or participate in our animal care programmes. This involves taking care of our chickens, pigs, sheep, and goats. It is a great experience learning to deal with livestock and work with others in the community for food purposes.
Special programmes: this is for anyone with special needs, where we run closed sessions and teach things such as cooking skills. This is a small, tight-knit group that meets regularly to provide them with the social and outside space that they might not get otherwise.
“I’d like to think that there is something on offer for everyone at the farm.”
What events are typically hosted at the farm?
It’s a busy schedule across the week! The schedule includes family sessions for those with toddlers and infants, closed groups for those who have special needs, various activities with school groups, along with the animal care volunteers, and open volunteering sessions (on Fridays and Saturdays).
Other events involve commercial hiring of the space, which can be done throughout the year. We have seen a range of events being hosted at the farm, from yoga classes, birthday celebrations, and lots of other events which are hosted in either the kitchen, outdoor area, or the yurt.
What are the key goals for Oxford City Farm?
Connecting people as a community through growing food and growing food for the community.
What made you join the Indie Oxford community?
We wanted to be associated with and work with other like-minded organisations that are part of the Oxford community. It’s all about supporting other businesses and charities that are trying to have an impact beyond enterprise. Oxford City Farm is all about trying to encourage community development, and joining Indie Oxford aligned with that.
On Saturdays, you sell your farm-grown food, which is incredible. What can people expect to find here, and do you recommend coming early?
I definitely suggest that people come early. The various products are: eggs (from our chicken), fresh greens (salad mix, spinach, various herbs such as oregano, coriander, dill, and parsley,) and so much more depending on the time of year.
We also sell cakes and savoury dishes on Saturdays that are made on the farm, which are made with a lot of our own produce. A variety of means are sometimes available, and of course, we sell coffee from Missing Bean Coffee Roasters.
“We hope that we are making it possible for everyone to get involved.”
What has the impact of the farm looked like over the years, especially on the environmental sustainability element?
Using best practices is important to us. We try to implement and teach these to the community, which covers growing produce, composting, and reducing food waste.
We try to follow the rules for organic growing as best as possible which means we try and recycle all the materials that come to the farm which means using any organic waste: manure from the animals, any vegetable waste as well as used coffee grounds from Missing Bean, which we take weekly and mix this into our compost.
Rainwater harvesting is something else we do, and this is used as the first point for irrigating our crops.
We also have solar panels.
Anything going on this year which you want to highlight?
Mainly want to highlight our Saturday markets. Even if people do not buy stuff, they can consider donating, as we really try to keep our costs low as a charity, and any donations do go a long way. The more people are able to donate, the more we can create space for those who have special needs and create produce for food banks and other members of the community.
Anyone interested in hiring the venue, please do get in touch, as there are so many ways to use the space.
Finally, if anyone reading is looking to volunteer with us, click here. Volunteering is a great way to interact with others and bring us together to grow food.
