Sims Hill Shared Harvest

19/05/2023

By Lee Nottle

At Essential, we know the importance of locally grown food and the positive impact it has on local communities. We are proud to support local growers, and at the end of 2022, we worked with Sims Hill Shared Harvest to finance vegetable boxes for residents of Bristol who otherwise may not have access to nutritious, seasonal, and locally grown food.

About Sims Hill Shared Harvest

Located at Grow Wilder in Bristol, Sims Hill Shared Harvest is a grassroots farm and community agriculture (CSA) project that provides local vegetables raised using natural farming methods, in addition to operating social projects for and with the local community. They are run through a cooperative structure and is run by members who receive weekly shares in the form of fresh vegetable boxes. This model allows its members to have a greater connection with the food they eat as well as the farm on which it has been grown. Members are also encouraged to visit the farm, which means the site is not only used for food production but also as a valuable community space.

Altogether, Sims Hill feeds around 180 households in the city and also distributes locally grown vegetables to volunteers, and organisations in Bristol. They use organic growing methods and permaculture principles to grow vegetables, cultivate healthy soils, and support social action through land-based activities. These include their workshare programme and also their Soil Connections programme, which involves working with a group of asylum seekers, migrants, and refugees who have an interest in horticulture, to increase social connection, gain work-based experience in food growing, and link to other sources of support in Bristol.

Want to join?

If you are based in Bristol, you can subscribe as a member and receive seasonal and delicious vegetables every week. There are two subscription options: a big box (full share) or a small box (half share). Both options include the same variety of vegetables but differ in quantity. The selection of vegetables is determined by the season, but the veg boxes at Sims Hill always include staples such as root vegetables as well as salads and/or greens! There are several collection points around Bristol: St. Werburgh’s, Easton, Bishopston, Fishponds, Windmill Hill, Frenchay, and St. George. See this map for their exact locations.

For more information and to apply to join Sims Hill Shared Harvest as a member, click here.

How else can you help?

Sims Hill Shared Harvest is currently running a Crowdfunder campaign to ensure that they can continue operating and connecting people to nutritious food, their local community, and sustainable farming. With unforeseen costs and unpredictable weather due to climate change and illness, it requires great effort to keep everything afloat. Sims Hill is now raising money to support the farm through this difficult period so that they can continue to feed Bristol and offer invaluable services.

With your support, they can continue to operate and commit to helping the next generation of local farmers. Unfortunately, in the current political landscape, long-term food security and climate solutions are not prioritised. This means that small-scale agroecological growers receive little to no governmental support and are all too often underpaid as well as overworked. Sims Hill has been an active part of the food justice movement, demanding greater land access, support for new growers, and improved accessibility to local, seasonal, and nutritious food. However, they need your support to survive and keep working towards a sustainable future for all.

If you would like to donate, please visit their Crowdfunder page and make sure to share with friends and family.