Liverpool community food growing: Summer open days for all

Our public engagement project aimed to raise awareness and promote access to community food growing organisations for members of the public in the Liverpool City Region.

Professor Charlotte Hardman, Institute of Population Health

It builds directly on our UKRI-funded research project, Rurban Revolution, which is creating an evidence base on the wide-ranging benefits of growing more fresh food in urban areas close to where people live.

(Liverpool Food Growers Network trustees Minna Alanko-Falola, John McCombs and Charlotte Hardman)

"Food was delicious, people were lovely, crops fantastic. A beautiful day all round."
(Squash event, Toxteth)

Following on from this, and in collaboration with representatives from local food growing organisations, we set up the Liverpool Food Growers Network (LFGN), which aims to improve connections between food growing projects and raise their profile within the City Region. We used the public engagement funding to award small grants to community food growing organisations to host ‘open days’. This involved opening their gates to the general public to showcase their work on sustainably growing fresh produce and the health, wellbeing and biodiversity benefits of urban food growing.

(La Salle Hotel School)

The events were aimed at all age groups and comprised a range of engagement activities including garden tours, beekeeping, composting, harvesting and nature walks.

“It was lovely seeing all the children learning about the insects and bees.”
(Croxteth Community Garden)

We supported seven community food growing organisations who held their open days in July and August 2022, with locations ranging from inner city Liverpool to St Helen’s. Events were well-attended (50 - 200 visitors per event) and positively received, and we also ran a successful social media campaign. These events have contributed to the legacy of the LFGN, and we hope they will result in increased public engagement with community food growing projects.

“I have never been here before and I felt included and had a wonderful time.”
(Squash event, Toxteth)

  “Me and my family loved the garden. I think it is wonderful what everyone has brought to the site.”
(Norris Green Park)