Community Food Growing in Preston, Lancashire: How Let's Grow Preston Supports

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Community food growing by Let's Grow Preston. Featuring potatoes, veggies, and more.

Across the UK, community food growing has become an increasingly important way to support local food systems, improve wellbeing and tackle food insecurity.

In Preston, volunteers, community organisations and local partners are working together to grow food, share knowledge and ensure that fresh produce reaches people who need it most.

Let’s Grow Preston is at the heart of this work, as we are a network that supports community gardens, food growing projects and local food distribution initiatives across the city. Through volunteering, partnerships and community-led projects, Let’s Grow Preston helps ensure that growing food locally benefits both people and the planet.

Why Community Food Growing Matters

Community food growing is about much more than producing vegetables. Across towns and cities, unused or underused land is increasingly being transformed into community gardens and food growing spaces where people can learn, volunteer and grow healthy food together.

In Preston, projects such as Avenham Community Garden, St Barnabas’ Place and Moor Nook Community Allotment have helped turn neglected spaces into vibrant growing environments that bring communities together.

These spaces provide opportunities for:

learning how to grow food
improving physical and mental wellbeing
building community connections
increasing access to fresh, healthy produce

Let’s Grow Preston works to support and connect many of these projects, helping community groups access resources, training and practical support.

Supporting Food Access in Preston

One of the most important ways community food growing contributes to the city is through local food support initiatives. For example, the Holiday Market Project, originally developed by Preston City Council and delivered by schools, faith organisations and community groups, were created in response to growing concern around holiday hunger — when families struggle to access free school meals during school holidays.

These markets operate using a “pay as you feel” model, helping ensure families can access food in a dignified and accessible way.

Food for these markets comes from a combination of sources, including:

surplus food from FareShare
fruit and vegetables grown through Let’s Grow Preston
community partnerships across the city

Markets are typically held in schools, church halls and community centres, helping ensure food reaches families where it is most needed.

Responding to Food Needs During the Pandemic

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the importance of community food networks became even clearer.

Between April and September, Preston City Council worked in partnership with FareShare and Let’s Grow Preston to support communities experiencing increased food insecurity.

Together, the partnership helped deliver:

23 holiday markets
2 food pantries
11 food banks
3 meals-on-wheels schemes

During this time:

1,440 families were supported each week
47,520 food parcels were delivered
The equivalent of 570,240 meals were provided

Throughout the pandemic, staff and volunteers from Let’s Grow Preston also continued weekly food deliveries to local schools and community hubs, helping ensure vulnerable families could access fresh food.

In recognition of this work, the Mayor of Preston awarded Let’s Grow Preston a City Hero Award for outstanding support to the city during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Harvesting Surplus Food Across the City

Another important part of Preston’s community food system is the collection of surplus fruit and vegetables from allotments and gardens. Each summer, volunteers harvest produce that might otherwise go to waste. Over a period of around 8–12 weeks, this surplus food is redistributed to food banks and community organisations across Preston.

This work not only helps support local families, but also reduces food waste and the environmental impact of discarded produce.

Using the Harvestometer tool, Let’s Grow Preston measures the impact of this work in terms of:

meals generated
financial value of redistributed food
carbon savings from preventing food waste

In 2023 alone, this network helped generate the equivalent of over 17,000 meals.

Growing Food, Growing Skills

Community food growing also creates opportunities for people to learn new skills and connect with nature.

Let’s Grow Preston regularly delivers food growing training and workshops, both at its community hub at Ashton Walled Garden and at other sites around the city.

These sessions help participants learn practical skills such as:

sowing seeds
growing vegetables
understanding plant growth
maintaining healthy gardens

Food growing can also be a powerful way to introduce children to science and sustainability. For example, Let’s Grow Preston worked with Year 1 pupils at St Stephen’s Primary School to deliver a seed sowing workshop, where children learned about germination and planted their own peas and beans.

As part of the workshop, the pupils also received “grow your own salad kits” to take home, helping families begin growing food themselves.

Activities like these help children develop:

motor skills
curiosity about nature
awareness of where food comes from
confidence in trying new foods

Community Impact in Numbers

Let’s Grow Preston has always supported a wide range of food growing and community initiatives across the city.

Some of our impact since 2023 includes:

1,500+ horticulture sessions delivered
21,000+ volunteer hours contributed
Over 1,000 meals distributed each week through food hubs
150+ weekly van collections delivering food support to around 300 families per week
4.5 tonnes of carbon saved by growing and distributing food locally

Together, these projects show how community growing can contribute to healthier communities, stronger local networks and a more sustainable food system.

A Community Effort

The success of Preston’s community food growing projects depends on collaboration between volunteers, charities, schools and local organisations.

As Christine Clitheroe from St Cuthbert’s Church explained:

“With your help we have been able to deliver 1,000 bags of food to local families via primary schools. During the first lockdown, you also helped deliver 1,500 food bags by supplying fresh fruit and vegetables from the community gardens and providing families with fruit and veg pots to grow at home. It’s been an amazing achievement as a team and the families have really appreciated the support.”

Stories like this highlight the power of community action and local partnerships.

Growing the Future of Food in Preston

Community food growing continues to play an important role in Preston’s future.

By supporting volunteers, sharing resources and working with local partners, Let’s Grow Preston helps ensure that:

more food is grown locally
less food goes to waste
communities have greater access to fresh produce
people can learn the skills to grow food themselves

Through gardens, training, partnerships and community projects, food growing is helping create a healthier, more resilient Preston.

Get Involved

There are many ways to be part of Preston’s community growing movement.

You can:

volunteer at a local garden
attend a workshop
support local food projects
help harvest surplus produce

To learn more about community food growing or volunteering opportunities, visit the appropriate web pages or contact us at letsgrowpreston@gmail.com.

Frequently Asked Questions About Community Food Growing in Preston

What is community food growing?

Community food growing is when people work together to grow fruit, vegetables and herbs in shared spaces such as community gardens, allotments or public green spaces.

These projects help people learn how to grow food, improve access to fresh produce and build stronger local communities. Community food growing can also support mental wellbeing, environmental sustainability and food education.

Are there community gardens in Preston?

Yes. Preston has a growing network of community gardens and food growing projects across the city.

Examples include:

Ashton Walled Garden
Grange Community Garden
Avenham Community Garden
St Barnabas’ Place
Moor Nook Community Allotment

These spaces allow local residents to volunteer, learn gardening skills and grow fresh food for themselves and their communities.

Let’s Grow Preston helps connect and support many of these projects by providing resources, training and practical advice.

How does community food growing help tackle food poverty?

Community food growing helps tackle food poverty in several ways.

Locally grown food can be shared with community food hubs, food banks and support projects that provide meals to families who need them. Growing food locally can also reduce food waste by redistributing surplus produce that might otherwise be thrown away.

In Preston, partnerships between community groups, Preston City Council and organisations like FareShare help ensure that locally grown food reaches people who need it most.

Can I volunteer in a community garden in Preston?

Yes. Many community gardens in Preston welcome volunteers of all ages and experience levels.

Volunteering can involve activities such as planting, harvesting vegetables, maintaining gardens or helping with community events. It’s a great way to learn new skills, spend time outdoors and meet other people in your community.

Let’s Grow Preston regularly hosts volunteer sessions across its growing sites.

What are the benefits of volunteering in community food projects?

Volunteering in community food projects can provide a wide range of benefits, including:

improving physical and mental wellbeing
learning gardening and food growing skills
meeting new people and building community connections
supporting local food initiatives
spending more time outdoors and connecting with nature

Many volunteers also find it rewarding to know that their work helps support local families and community organisations.

Stay Connected With Let’s Grow Preston

If you’re interested in community food growing, gardening events, volunteering opportunities or local food projects, our newsletter is the best way to stay up to date.

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