Press Release 24 Nov 2009

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The inner city farm at Illingworth Fields previously known as Bradford City Farm is continuing to grow thanks to a grant of £220,000 from Local Food, a new funding programme supported by the Big Lottery Fund.

Prism Youth Project Charity is one of the first organisations in West Yorkshire to receive funding from the £50 million Local Food Programme which will be funding food related community projects right across the country.

The ‘Food for Thought’ project will bring a real boost to the local community by adding a new dimension of what the farm has to offer by providing training opportunities for disadvantaged young people to develop their horticulture skills whilst working alongside adult volunteers.

As well as urban cultivation the scheme will develop a diverse farm enterprise by holding Saturday markets and open events to distribute locally produced food, promote the benefits of healthy eating and celebrate the diversity of food with the community.

Paul Craven, Managing Director of Prism Youth Project, said:

“This project will bring communities and young people together through the medium of growing food. We anticipate breaking down barriers by working together and will enjoy seeing an end product of the hard work put in by all those involved.”

Mark Wheddon, Local Food Programme Manager, said:

“It is projects like this that have a wide and lasting impact on the community and we are happy to support them. The ‘Food for Thought’ project marks just the beginning in terms of Local Food grants. With a record £50 million to distribute to various groups we will begin to see a real change in the accessibility of local food.”

Local Food has been developed by a consortium of 15 national environmental organisations, and is managed on their behalf by the Royal Society of Wildlife Trusts (RSWT). Supported by the Big Lottery Fund's Changing Spaces programme, Local Food will distribute grants to a variety of food related projects to make locally grown food more accessible.

-ENDS-