Bassetlaw Food Bank’s Grow It, Fix It project combines food growing with practical skills training, all in support of the local community.
The Grow It element includes over 20 allotment plots, a polytunnel, a fruit tree orchard, a wildflower meadow and an apiary. A wide variety of produce is grown on site, including spring onions, courgettes, tomatoes, strawberries, potatoes, carrots, cabbage, beetroot, runner beans, broccoli and onions. These crops are used to support emergency food parcels, supply the Bassetlaw Community Shop and feature in delicious meals for the weekly lunch club and the BFB Hive Café’s specials.
Throughout spring and summer, the site is full of colour with wildflower meadows, lavender and sunflower hedges, and blooms of lupins, foxgloves and hollyhocks, alongside the growing vegetables. The team recently carried out their first honey extraction of the year. Last year, a single beehive produced 220 jars of honey, and with multiple colonies this summer, the total could be even higher.
Volunteers are at the heart of the project – sowing seeds, harvesting produce, maintaining and weeding the land, and sharing their knowledge of beekeeping and horticulture to help feed people across Bassetlaw. The Fix It element is a weekly woodwork workshop where attendees learn new skills and create items such as benches, bird tables and home décor. Earlier this year, the team designed and made bee-themed menu holders for the café, with staff voting for their favourite design before production began.
Partnerships with local businesses have also been key to the project’s success. Supporters provide materials, labour and expertise. For example, Bellway Homes helped build a six-section compost bed, reducing waste and boosting sustainability. Other groups have created hedgehog hides and cleared land to expand the allotment plots.
The BFB team are proud of how Grow It, Fix It has expanded the ways they can support local people. To get involved, email laura.kennedy@bassetlawfoodbank.org.