Loughborough Farm Community Cafe

General information

Loughborough Farm is a community food growing project that began in August 2013 and has been growing ever since. The vision was to create a patchwork of community growing spaces on pieces of derelict or underused land. Our main site is on Loughborough Road where we produce food for local consumption and sale throughout the year. We run twice weekly growing sessions and everyone is welcome to join us.

Two of our longstanding volunteer initiated projects include the Wish You Were Here project and the Loughborough Farm Community Café:

The Wish You Were Here project puts wellbeing at its heart. It works with 3 GP surgeries, the Harbour Recovery Centre and a local hostel aiming to get those who are more vulnerable involved at the Farm. It has a stall at the Living Well Network Open Morning at Mosaic Clubhouse, Brixton, on the last Thursday of the month, 11-12.30pm.

Loughborough Farm Community Café is currently open every Thursday and Friday 11am - 3pm at the Platform, 2 Ridgway Road, SW9 7AH (opposite the Farm). Each morning, volunteers and community cooks come together to make a delicious lunch with freshly picked farm produce, celebrating the diverse food cultures of Loughborough Junction. If you'd like to volunteer or get involved, please contact Charlotte O'Connor on 07841830463 or email ljcommunitycafe@gmail.com

Farm produce for sale
Our Farm market is on the first Saturday of every month. 1-3pm outside the Farm Café on 2 Ridgway Road, SW9 7AH. We sell freshly harvested farm salads and vegetables as well as jams, chutneys, herbal teas and local honeys. We also support local business by selling local and handmade natural beauty products as well as pottery and textiles.
We also run occasional pop-up market stalls at local GP surgeries and other locations.

Information about Farm volunteering
Everyone is welcome, even if you have no growing experience, but children and young people (under 16) must come with a responsible adult. Our sessions are currently on Tuesdays and Saturdays from 1 - 3 pm. We grow food collectively, rather than people having individual plots, but all our regular volunteers get to take a bag of food home with them at the end of a session.
You are welcome to come along to any session - you can just come and have a look around or get involved in whatever we're doing that day. Some people attend regularly and others just come occasionally.
We provide formal training sessions in food growing about once per month.
We provide gardening gloves and tools, but suggest wearing comfortable clothes that you don’t mind getting dirty!
Please read our Health and Safety Information here or pick up a paper copy when you come to the Farm.

LJ Works

The Farm is at an exciting phase in our development as our main site becomes part of the new LJ Works development. We were given permission to grow on the land temporarily but we will now be able to stay on site for at least 20 years! Lambeth Council successfully received grant funding from the Mayor’s London Regeneration Fund to build a variety of affordable workspaces on the site. The build is due to start in autumn 2017 and we will continue to grow and run sessions on the site on a small strip of land until the build is completed in 2018. You can read more about the project here. (Link to council website https://www.lambeth.gov.uk/housing/regeneration/loughborough-junction-masterplan/lj-works

Farm Email Newsletter
We send out the latest Farm news and other local information weekly via email. If you wish to be added to the Loughborough Farm email list please email loughborough farm
You can also check out our event postings page or our noticeboard outside the Farm gates.

Contact Information

Main Farm Site Address: Loughborough Farm, Loughborough Road, opposite Wyck Gardens, SW9 7EL (insert map link if possible)

To find out more about the Farm contact:
Farm Project Coordinator Emily Myers loughboroughfarm@gmail.com
Or call Anthea Masey 07799 621582

Wish You Were Here - ohooperk@gmail.com

Follow us on:
Facebook Loughborough Farm (link) https://www.facebook.com/Loughborough-Farm-653774824726760/
Twitter @LoughFarm (link) https://twitter.com/loughfarm?lang=en
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/loughboroughfarm/

Videos about the Farm
http://www.loughboroughjunction.org/projects/loughborough-farm-a-patchwork-of-community-growing-spaces/films-about-loughborough-farm