Last year we saw record temperatures and drought decimating harvests across the region. This year we will be adding the fallout of the Iran war to that – with interrupted fertiliser supplies predicted to increase our food prices by 9%.
Eating well is getting harder and harder and, as a result, the diet-driven illnesses concentrated in our part of the country keep getting worse. Yorkshire and the Humber sits among the regions of the UK with the lowest healthy life expectancy. In Sheffield, around one in three children grows up in poverty, well above the national average.
It doesn’t have to be like this. We can start building a different food system today. A city where we can all grow food. A city full of beautiful natural spaces where people can connect to nature and to each other. Our back gardens, our church plots, our school yard and our parks can all provide space where we grow food in harmony with nature.
There’s a lot we have already:
- Many areas in Sheffield have thriving allotment societies and since the pandemic we have been running our Grow a Row scheme to link the local growers up to our community food system.
- Last year we were given permission by Sheffield City Council to start operating the Norton Nursery as a community Nursery. We’ve been steadily increasing a supply of nature friendly seedlings raised there to support food growing in schools, and in your back garden!
- This year we’ve launched our food growing workshops to provide better access to a range of sustainable growing practices and make it easy for everyone to grow food regardless of their circumstances
- Next month we are finally making a start with the community farm on the Carver Fields in collaboration with the Sheffield Methodist Circuit. Complication with Yorkshire water accessing the land initially delayed this a bit, but we are now ready to go and expect to be breaking some ground in the summer.
There are also bigger plans afoot for the future. Last week we sat down with people from organisations across Sheffield and Rotherham – growers, environmental groups, education, health, social care – to start building a consortium to build our city of food growing. The foundations of a city region partnership that brings local government, the voluntary sector and universities into the same room as community growers, working together over the long haul. That’s potentially linked to some very substantial funding, although that will not come online until next year.
For now – the 2026 growing season has just started, and there are plenty of ways to get your hands in something that makes a difference right now:
Pick up a growing kit
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Growing Food
Seasonal Food Growing – Full Year Kit
With the Seasonal Subscription, you’ll receive a carefully selected mix of plants every season, so you can enjoy fresh, home-grown vegetables, herbs, and edible flowers all year round.
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Growing Food
Seasonal Food Growing Quarterly Subscription
With the Seasonal Subscription, you’ll receive a carefully selected mix of plants every season, so you can enjoy fresh, home-grown vegetables, herbs, and edible flowers all year round.
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Growing Food
Easy Food Growing Kit
Available to collect from late April*, each kit contains a carefully selected mix of plants that support one another as they grow, combining food plants that are enjoyable to cook and eat with companion plants that bring colour and life to the garden.
Join 'Grow A Row'
Join Grow a Row 2026!
Last year, we harvested over 3.3 tonnes of fresh food. That’s the equivalent of more than 8,000 meals. Turn your garden surplus into local impact. Join Grow a Row 2026!
A better food system isn’t built in Whitehall. It’s built in our back gardens, on our allotments, in our classrooms, and all the underused open spaces in our communities. Thanks for being part of it!
