Cultivate, Oxfordshire’s local food co-operative launched its community share offer on Monday. Over 100 people packed in to the Turl Street Kitchen in central Oxford to hear the founder members present their plans for the future of the business, and how this fits into a more sustainable food future for the county. As a community benefit society, Cultivate is owned and managed by its members, and any profits are automatically reinvested into the business. Members of the public are being given the opportunity to invest between now and April to contribute to getting the business off the ground - £55,000 will be spent on farm equipment and seeds, a new VegVan and the running costs of the enterprise for the first year.
What will Cultivate do?
Cultivate is about new ways of feeding Oxford, a local response to global issues. It is a social enterprise that will bring fresh, local, sustainably-grown food direct from farmers to the city and surrounding communities. Our five-acre market garden and other small farms nearby will provide the produce sold in the VegVan, our mobile greengrocery, which will go wherever communities want it. We will also supply to restaurants and caterers. Cultivate exists to increase access to local food and to actively push forward the local food movement by creating opportunities for education and training in sustainable food growing.
You can find out more about Cultivate and the community share offer at www.cultivateoxford.org
Read more about how Cultivate came about in this article by one of Cultivate’s co-founders Dan Betterton.