Aim

Access to locally grown food, in a welcoming community hub that builds and tackles deep-seated injustice in the Cathall Estate.

What is our vision? 

We are building a Food Network in Cathall Estate, historically one of the most deprived areas in the Uk, and today 43% of children live under the poverty line. We want to create a community composting hub. With the money raised to buy a Ridan composter we will reduce food waste going to landfill, reduce our emissions from importing both food and compost, and directly benefit the local community by raising  awareness of our impact on the climate and sustainable practices.

This network currently provides accessible food for residents of the estate through the Food Share and supports local food production with the support of Time to Grow. Our aim is to build a resilient community, and to support more local community food providers and institutions to tackle food poverty and to support our community in preventing, preparing and adapting to the impacts of a changing climate. 

The Food Share is a weekly, non-referral pantry serving between 60-80 households , acting as the central point for building positive relationships in multi-faith and multi-ethnic areas. It brings together different backgrounds, including second and third generation Windrush families, NHS employees, single parents, and refugees. For many, this has become the principal service, embodying a "liturgy... welcoming friends and neighbours".

How are we growing food?

With residents, growers, food enthusiasts, we are creating a tapestry of community gardens, building a dislocated farm across the Estate.

Connecting people interested in growing from a range of backgrounds, with with the skills, support networks and spaces needed to grow food. We utilise unused green spaces, including private gardens in the Cathall Estate, to support food production, which is then donated back to the Food Share. This directly addresses food insecurity and loneliness by prioritising marginalised individuals, such as disabled and elderly garden owners, hosting regular community meals to create a vibrant network around food.

How can you help?

We are trying to raise 3.5k to help us buy a Ridan Composter. This type of composter is hand turned, creating high temperatures to accelerate the process. We receive large amounts of food and sometime quickly is no longer edible. This composter allows us to utilise the food waste quickly to make our very own compost continuously for free. Helping our plants grow and our plates full!  

Our aim is to change our food system. A composter will help us prevent further stress on the climate as we will produce large amounts of valuable compost locally, reducing both compost and food transport emissions. The more we localise our food system the better we can prepare and adapt to the impact of climate change. We also prepare and adapt by nurturing our depleting soil through our composting and planting cycle, preventing flood risks, and creating vital ecosystems.

Please consider donating and sharing as we try to change our food system one garden at a time! 

Funding method

Keep what you raise – this project will receive all pledges made by 28th August 2026 at 11:08am