Grow Sheffield is an active network of individuals and groups promoting urban organic food growing which :   • stimulates and inspires individuals and communities to   grow food by providing education, information, access   to training and resources, visits, social and networking   events, skills and information sharing opportunities.   • promotes all the beneficial aspects of local organic   food growing – through the arts, in food cultures,   community building, physical and mental health and   well-being, local enterprise and economy and the   environment.   • raises awareness of wider issues of sustainability,   reducing food miles, oil dependency and ecological and   carbon footprints and increasing biodiversity.   • encourages increased access to and use of land to   provide local fresh and healthy food by influencing   decision makers to change policy.   • exchanges good practice on organic food growing   and community engagement throughout the UK with   established and embryo organisations. We aim to have fun, enjoy what we do and do what we can! Grow Sheffield works collaboratively and in partnership with a number of organisations including: Transition Sheffield, Heeley City Farm, Sharrow Partnership, and Sharrow Community Forum, Sharrow Encounters, Access Space, Sheffield City Council, Sharrow School, Showroom Cinema Grow Sheffield and Transition Sheffield have agreed to work closely together to support each other’s activities as our aims and objectives are strongly aligned. Follow this link to Transition Sheffield. A Bit of Background Grow Sheffield was formed in 2007 by Anne-Marie Culhane an environmental artist, community catalyst and grower. You can see info on the opening event at the Showroom under the green tomato in the events and activities page. This was also the first year of Abundance – community urban fruit harvest and Allotment Soup – celebrating allotments, arts and harvest. “My motivation for getting it going was to draw people together to share knowledge, best practice on urban food and to ensure that the importance of urban food and a supporting culture is recognised as part of a sustainable city. It also feels important that a co-operative, collaborative and creative community is as vital as learning the skills required to grow food successfully ….Its really exciting seeing people’s skills and participation grow and develop and experiencing people clocking on to the importance and relevance of growing food in cities…So many things have happened – real projects – thanks to the fantastic volunteers” We hope to provide lots of different opportunities and ways for people to get together learn, celebrate and share. We have a core team who are representatives for certain areas of our activities and we operate on a consensus and co-operative basis. We are currently a voluntary constituted group and always looking to include more volunteers in all areas of our work. We have received funding from Sheffield First Partnership Board for the Environment, Sharrow Partnership, Co-operative Communities Fund, Naturesave Trust, South Yorkshire Community Foundation, Arts Council (Yorkshire), Open Gate Trust.