Neighbourhood Farms is working to create central food gardens at schools and hospitals across Cape Town and educate the future generations about their importance.
Cape Town, South Africa – Neighbourhood Farms first popped up on our radar last year and we have been watching the amazing work they are doing in Cape Town. The organisation is working to educate the public on the importance of maintaining food gardens and hopes to create a market space for those that use the gardens.
They are also working build outdoor classrooms which will be a base for teaching children to understand where their food comes from and how to live lightly within their own neighbourhoods.
“Our mission is to promote sustainable, ethical and healthy food to local schools and communities. Neighbourhood Farms works to address the urgent need for food security with the need for developing the local economy by integrating education, environmentally sustainable farming and social change”
The hope is to create a new kind of normal, the kind that sees future generations growing and sourcing local fresh food. Making sure that good-quality, nutritious food is equally accessible to all people living in South Africa.
Neighbourhood Farms is acting as the catalyst behind educating pupils, teachers, parents and neighbours. Every action taken by the organisation is to better the lives of South Africans for years to come. By starting with the young and sickly, they are making the greatest difference.
Who are the people that will benefit from the Neighbourhood farm project?
- Local, unskilled / semi-unskilled migrants and community members have the chance to gain experience and employment through the project and contribute to the creation of a wellbeing economy.
- Children of school going age, from grade R to grade 12 and from all walks of life will have access to and gain very important knowledge of our food systems in order to create a sustainable future for themselves, allowing them to become the agents for change into the future through edible education.
- Community members, regardless of whether they are food insecure, are nutritionally starving or are wealthy, get to contribute to a circular economy that maps out the shortfalls and provides solutions to the current wasteful and disconnected urban living philosophy.
Since launching last year, Neighbourhood Farms have secured R4.5 million in funding from the Department of Agriculture. They have developed over 6000 square metres of food gardens and commenced sales of the produce at 3 of the gardens.
They are projecting a successful 2019 and have already kicked off some of their educational sessions with school kids.
If you would like to find out more about them, you can check them out on Facebook.
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