Established in 2019, CoFarm was brought to the community to help address the inequality in access to fresh fruits and vegetables. CoFarm encourages local community involvement, allowing residents to participate in its operations and contribute their ideas.
With an office based at the Allia Future Business Centre Cambridge Guildhall and a farm based in Abbey, Cambridge – the CoFarm team is growing and dedicated to listening to the local community and producing organic fresh fruit and vegetables.
We contacted our friend, Lucy Shepherd, Community Engagement Coordinator at CoFarm to discuss who they are, how they create a positive impact and what they enjoy about being a part of the ‘Allia Community.’
‘Grown by the community, for the community.’
What inspired the business?
The CoFarm journey started on World Food Day in October 2019. The local community in Cambridge helped co-design our farm in Abbey and the first crops were officially planted on the farm in March 2020.
We recognise that humanity currently faces some major environmental, economic and social challenges, but we are optimists and believe we can and will overcome these challenges together. Our vision is by 2030 everyone in the United Kingdom will have access to local, sustainably produced food and opportunities to enjoy growing and sharing it with others.
What positive impact have you created?
The organisation was launching during the Covid 19 pandemic. This was a difficult time for many, and to make lives easier and ensure that the local community received regular, fresh produce – we donated 100% of our organic produce to foodbanks in Cambridgeshire. This has continued 5 years on, and we now donate 95% of our fresh fruit and vegetables to local foodbanks.
We believe that co-farming offers a wonderful opportunity for people to step outside, connect with nature, and engage with their community. Our goal is to provide our co-farmers with a holistic experience where they feel safe, secure, and happy. Looking ahead, we plan to host community workshops on the farm, fostering interaction and connection while providing access to fresh produce.
What is CoFarm proud of doing as a company?
As a growing team of five – with two team members based at the office and three based at the farm, we are dedicated to bridging the gap of inequality in access to fresh produce and local co-farming. Everyone has a right to access fruit and vegetables and we’re happy to offer co-farming as a way to get the community together and farm organic produce.
Our Founder & CEO, Gavin Shelton FRSA is proud that CoFarm helps with biodiversity. We believe wildlife is just as important as the food we produce. We are an ecological farm so, we don’t use any chemicals or pesticides on our crops, we’re plastic-free, turning food miles into metres and overall work hand in hand with nature. This means that our produce is fresh and a lot healthier than the fruit and vegetables that you’d find in your local supermarket.
Why did you choose Allia as your team's home?
We love the whole concept of Allia and appreciate the support they give to start-ups and small businesses.
We were originally based at by Allia‘s King’s Hedges Centre but are now located in Cambridge’s iconic Guildhall and can wholly recommend Allia’s Future Business Centres as a great place for impact driven entrepreneurs to incubate and grow a social enterprise.”
Gavin Shelton, Founder & CEO of CoFarm
Is there any news/upcoming events you would like the Allia community to know about?
We are always happy to welcome volunteers to our farm.
Our opening times are Monday & Friday mornings, Tuesday evenings and all day Thursday & Sunday.
We would appreciate more volunteers on Tuesday evenings during this peak season.
