CoFarm’s founder Gavin Shelton has received a Points of Light award from the Prime Minister through a cross-party initiative that highlights the work of volunteers across the UK who are making positive changes in their communities. 

“In one year alone you have harvested and donated organic fruit and vegetables to the value of £40,000 to those in need across Cambridge. Along with your fantastic group of 300 volunteers, you have created something truly special in your community.

‘CoFarm’ is a brilliantly innovative initiative and I wish you every success with your goal of rolling out your community farming model to 250,000 acres by 2030.

As we look forward to COP26, I am delighted to recognise you as a climate leader who is helping to make the UK greener and cleaner.” Prime Minister Boris Johnson MP

The award recognises Gavin’s vision of bringing people together to grow and share nutritious food, improving access to local, sustainably produced food and promoting healthier ecosystems. It was in January 2019 that he gave up working for a global conservation NGO to concentrate full-time on creating a co-farming pilot - CoFarm Cambridge - and a charitable structure for scaling-up the model nationally. Thanks to excellent engagement from the local community and partners – and with the help of hundreds of volunteers and local donors, CoFarm Cambridge is now a thriving community farm that has positively impacted nature and the local community. 

Since its first harvest in July 2020, CoFarm Cambridge has grown more than 11.6* tonnes of organically grown food, consisting of 55 varieties of fresh fruit and vegetables valued at over £52k, all of which continues to be donated to eight community food hubs established across Cambridge to support people experiencing food insecurity in response to the pandemic. (*Harvest data correct up to 31 October 2021.) CoFarm Foundation plans to roll out the model across the UK to achieve a ‘distributed estate’ of 250,000 acres of community farming land by 2030. 

The government’s recognition is a reminder of CoFarm Cambridge’s remarkable achievements. Despite starting out during a global pandemic, the project has succeeded in bringing the community together to turn a disused field into a thriving community farm that’s increasing access to sustainable food, improving community cohesion and biodiversity – and tackling societal challenges head-on.

Gavin said: ‘CoFarm is all about communities coming together to positively address “larger than self” issues such as climate change, health inequalities and biodiversity loss. By repositioning regenerative food and farming at the heart of our communities, we can overcome these challenges together. This Points of Light award shines light on all of our amazing co-farmers – over 325 to date – who have put so much love, time, energy and joy into co-designing and co-creating their own community farm in Cambridge.

‘Since the start of the pandemic, under the expert horticultural guidance of Peter Wrapson and Dominic Walsh, we have – together – organically grown over 10 tonnes of fruit and vegetables for those in our city who experience food insecurity. We thank the Prime Minister for his recognition of this community response and, in so doing, for shining light on needs that may otherwise remain hidden within our communities, our ecosystems and the soils beneath our feet. We look forward to positively addressing these needs together as we scale-up the “CoFarm” model with and for communities across the UK by 2030.”

Gavin also wishes to highlight the contribution of CoFarm Foundation’s Trustee Board, saying, “Charity Trustees are the unsung heroes of so much amazing voluntary action across the UK. Our Trustees have quietly put in a great deal of time, wisdom and expertise - behind the scenes - to get CoFarm Foundation into good shape, and registered with the Charity Commission, so we can deliver our vision more effectively.”

Last, “But by no means least!” Gavin is adamant that CoFarm would not exist without the unstinting support and belief of his wife, Helen Shelton. “Helen has backed me and CoFarm all the way, despite the obvious risks inherent in taking a leap from a secure salaried position to establishing something completely new,” he said. “Helen also shouldered pretty much all of the home-schooling responsibilities during a very challenging time, creating space for me to focus on developing CoFarm during the pandemic.”

“As far as I’m concerned,” he concludes, “ This award is for Helen and our fabulous boys, as much as it is for CoFarm’s brilliant horticultural leads, Pete and Dom; our dedicated Trustee Board; our donors and the hundreds of amazing co-farmers who have come together to make it all happen.”

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Click here for the Points of Light press release from No 10 Downing Street.