Discover a great project

Milton Keynes Urban Farm

  • Added: 06/07/15

We advocate and facilitate healthy, affordable food which is sustainably grown and sold.

Overview

In a city where 3/4 of all adults and 1/3 of children are overweight or obese, having access to your 5-a-day and information about healthy food becomes ever-more-important. Milton Keynes has got only little access to local food which is sustainably grown. Its main shopping opportunities are commercial, giving children and young people the impression that all food has to be mass-produced and that it is sold in packaging. A limited number of grow-your-own projects are available in the form of allotments or community gardens, but these are often limited due to size, location and availability.

The Milton Keynes Urban Farm offers the unique vision of a productive green space which caters for its local community and the rest of the city alike in a wide variety of ways. Hoping to open in early 2016, it will enhance and transform its neighbourhood and add to the quality of life of Milton Keynes’ growing community of healthy and proactive citizens.

Milton Keynes Urban Farm has been designed across three stands: food, education and community. Set on an acre of city land, the farm will provide a sustainable source of healthy and fresh food for the local community. It will also offer a secure community space, holistic education and child-friendly activities such as a petting zoo. Eventually, the farm will have its own shop, café, kitchen and educational space, allowing for a range of courses and activities. Citizens will also be able to rent allotment-style beds and exchange skills and knowledge via on-site growing initiatives.

In year one and two, the farm will increase the number of its animals until chickens, guinea pigs, rabbits, micro pigs, sheep, goats and bees are at home on site. The animals contribute to the farm by providing produce, manure and visitors’ appeal. The land will produce vegetables, fruit, herbs and flowers which will be sold fresh from the field and in the form of value-added products on site, at local markets and to restaurants and shops.