Join Crystal Palace’s Patchwork Farm!
The Patchwork Farm is a Crystal Palace Transition Town initiative. Our aim is to expand the production and sale of local fruit, vegetables, herbs and other produce. We have a weekly stall at the Crystal Palace Food Market, which takes place in Haynes Lane every Saturday. On the Patchwork Farm stall we sell and swap fruit, vegetables and herbs from more than forty ‘farms’ in SE19 and further afield.
The produce we sell is fresh, healthy and cheap. Bundles of herbs cost 30p each and bags of our famous ‘market salad’ – made up of leaves, herbs, edible flowers and more – cost just 50p. As well as selling to the general public we also supply local food producers and restaurants.
Where does the produce sold on the stall come from?
* From Crystal Palace Transiton Town’s five community gardens
* From local garden spaces that we manage on a landshare basis.
* It is sold, swapped or donated by local growers who have a glut of produce.
Where does the money made by the Patchwork Farm stall get spent?
The money we make on the Patchwork Farm stall goes into the expansion of our growing spaces. We buy seeds and tools and other equipment needed. All of the people working on the project are volunteers committed to increasing the production of healthy, cheap, local food.
How can you get involved?
Anyone can be part of the Patchwork Farm.
GROW AND SELL: We pay for locally-produced food. If you grow or produce local food already and would like to sell, swap or donate it, bring it to the stall on a Saturday or e-mail us.
SHARE YOUR LAND: We run a landshare scheme where people with a garden or piece of land that isn’t being used can share it with us. We will make the space productive and share the produce with you. If you’ve a garden space you’d like to share please e-mail us.
BECOME A FRIDAY FARMER: Every Friday we harvest produce from our growing spaces ready for the market stall on Saturday, and sow and plant new crops. We are expanding rapidly and need new farmers to volunteer with us to enable us to produce more local food. If you’re an experienced gardener, or interested in becoming one please e-mail us.
HELP OUT ON THE STALL: Our Patchwork Farm stall takes place from 10am-3pm each Saturday at the Crystal Palace Food Market. We need volunteers for the morning shift – 9.30-12.30 – and the afternoon shift – 12.30-3.30. If you’d like to help out, please e-mail us.
Why are we doing this?
In the last few years food prices have risen rapidly and a growing world population, climate change and the end of cheap oil will put even more pressure on food production in the near future. Food poverty is rising and the horsemeat scandal and poison cases linked to bagged supermarket salads show the importance of knowing where your food comes from.
The current food system is wasteful, expensive, unhealthy and damaging to the environment. It has been dominated by supermarkets for so long that we find it hard to believe there is another, better way of accessing food. But wouldn’t it be nice to know exactly where your food comes from and to have access to a cheap local supply of fruit and vegetables? To pick the herbs we need for our dinner on the journey home from the station? Or exchange some of the mountain of apples growing in your garden for butternut squash grown by your neighbour?
We’re proving that there is another way and with your help we can turn the whole of CP into a Patchwork Farm!
