Want to do something really positive and learn more about the food and farming movement at the same time? If the answer is ‘yes’ then read on.

It’s that time of year when The Community Farm recruits new people to maintain the strength of its all-important management committee (MC).

You will be joining a strong team of energetic and enthusiastic committee members who work closely with our senior staff team. The committee is responsible for governance, rather than operations, but as a small and young organization we are closely involved in the life of the Farm.

Particular experience, skills and knowledge we are looking for include;

• anti-rasicm
• field or market-garden scale organic horticultural growing
• fundraising
• communications
• biodiversity and ecology
• financial management
• fresh food retail
• If this might be you we would love to hear from you! Get in touch with us for a chat (contact details below) and book a slot to come along to our ‘Find Out About The Farm’ drop-in session on Saturday 27th May between 10am-1pm.

What is The Community Farm?
The Community Farm is a not-for-profit organic farm. We grow, source and deliver local organic and climate-friendly food across Bristol, Bath, Chew Valley, Frome, Weston-super-Mare and places in between. Our aim is to reconnect people with land and food, and to care for the natural world - of which we are a part. Our purpose is to nurture relationships through our organic farm. Every year over a thousand people benefit physically and mentally from courses, events and volunteering at The Farm

The Community Farm Facts

• We were founded in 2010 by local volunteers motivated by concerns about climate change, biodiversity loss, and social justice.
• We registered as a Community Benefit Society in 2010, ran a successful Community Share Offer attracting 400+ shareholder members, and launched in April 2011 renting our 14 acre site from the local farmer who also helped us found The Farm.
• Starting with empty fields and a cold tap, we now have 4 polytunnels, propagation tunnel, warehouse, yurt, roundhouse, learning area with growing forest garden, field kitchen, homes and hotels for wildlife and more.
• We deliver Veg Boxes to over 600 (900 in lockdown!) homes, and deliver wholesale fruit and veg to over 20 local businesses a week.
• We run between 5 and 10 community sessions a week; from field volunteering to events hosted by members of our local community.
• We generate over £1million a year in sales turnover and employ over 30 local people.
• We work with a variety of funders to raise grants and donations for our work as a social enterprise welcoming people onto the land.

What does the role of MC member involve?
The full management committee meets once every two months at The Farm or via online meeting. There are smaller groups (“subgroups”), each involving key staff plus one or more MC members - this is where much of the work happens. The groups relate to each of our strategic ‘strands (food, farming, wildlife, communities), as well as Communications, Business/Finance/Fundraising, People/Policies/Governance, and Landlord/Tenant. These groups meet quarterly or monthly.

Our Communities Programme reaches diverse communities, but due to other commitments our Black Lives Matter champion on the Management Committee had to leave us at our last AGM. We would love to recruit someone new to help us champion the cause of anti-racism. Reflecting its roots as a project created by ecological activists, the working culture at the Farm aspires to be collaborative, less hierarchical than some traditional businesses, and to use conflict constructively. Our committee members are a key part of The Farm, and need to be happy working alongside our staff and other volunteers collaboratively.

On average the role adds up to about one day per month of work. Some committee members choose to do more, and some are regularly involved as field, wildlife or warehouse volunteers also.

Further details about the role, which is unpaid, are in the Role Description.

What are the benefits of becoming a MC member?
Our existing committee members tell us they love being part of a project with a deep sense of purpose and values. They describe it as an extraordinary project created by a whole lot of ordinary people. They appreciate learning about food, farming and wildlife. They feel positive about helping demonstrate that a better approach to the production, sale and enjoyment of food is indeed possible. They love the teamwork, the opportunities to spend time on the field as well as ‘in the committee room’, the sense of achievement and the occasional seasonal celebration.