Seeding support for community food projects 

On Thursday 19 September, Bristol Food Network hosted a peer learning day, bringing together individuals from community growing projects all across Bristol to share insights on fundraising and other activities. Find out how it went and how to get involved in this work. 

Hi, Ramona here from Bristol Food Network and I’m excited to share a quick update about the fantastic peer-to-peer learning day we hosted last week as part of our Get Growing Trail work. 

The Get Growing Trail had its 12th open weekend back in June, showcasing the incredible mix of fruit and vegetable gardens, allotments, and urban farms that are thriving across our city.

This year, we welcomed both familiar faces and new participants, plus supported some amazing free workshops at many of the sites, creating an even richer and more vibrant event.  

But it didn’t end there. Beyond the weekend, we’ve been working hard to support Bristol’s growing projects all year round, helping more people get involved in these kinds of projects. 

Last week, we were pleased to host a peer-to-peer learning day at St Pauls Learning Centre, bringing together community growing projects from all over the city.

Our goal? To strengthen the sustainability and resilience of these amazing projects by sharing knowledge, skills, and tools. 

Alice, our Interim Bristol Good Food 2030 Partnership Coordinator, kicked things off with a speed networking activity, getting everyone to connect, share their project successes, and swap lessons learned.  

Next, we were joined by Jenny Wildblood from Voscur, who led a brilliant session on sustainable fundraising strategies. Jenny had some fascinating insights, reminding us that funders are just like us – people trying to make positive change in the world with limited resources.

She emphasised that great communication, not just writing, is key when applying for funding. Jenny also shared the essentials that growing projects need to apply for most grants: a governing document, policies, and a bank account.  

One of the most memorable moments was a fun exercise where participants were invited to explore the impact of a simple item, a packet of lettuce seeds. Following this activity, it was clear that fundraising is a lot more of an art than a science. Jenny also spoke about Voscur’s upcoming fundraiser cafés – a useful initiative where people can work on bids side-by-side, share challenges, and support one another. 

After Jenny’s session, we had some valuable discussions about our own fundraising experiences and swapped tips. Everyone seemed to leave inspired, with plenty of new ideas to take back to their own projects. 

This day of peer-to-peer learning was just the start. We’re keen to keep the momentum going and continue supporting Bristol’s growing projects with more opportunities to connect and learn from each other – some future themes we discussed were measuring impact and retaining volunteers.  

If you’re involved in a Get Growing Trail project and couldn’t attend the session – or indeed if you’ve never been part of the Get Growing Trail – we’d love to hear from you. You can reach us via the Bristol Good Food 2030 website.  

Read more about June 2024’s Get Growing Trail and find out how to get involved with regular volunteer sessions at some of the trail growing spaces. We begin planning 2025’s Get Growing Trail early next year.