We’re The Pitney Farm Cafe and we need your help to expand our exciting social enterprise. Become a part of something great by crowd funding the building of a new community space in the heart of Glebe Farm.
Introduction...
My name is Lily and, together with family-farm owners Rob and Lizzie Walrond, we are building a very creative cafe here at Glebe Farm. We believe passionately that The Pitney Farm Cafe is the next chapter for Glebe Farm! Opening a cafe on the farm will create a warm and welcoming space that invites people to be a part of the farm. It will also help connect people to the food we eat. The cafe will become apart of the community by offering educational workshops and exciting ways to learn more about agriculture and food. And of course a cafe on the farm will let us really make the most out of all the wonderful, fresh, nutritious and organic food produced here. The Pitney Farm Cafe is a fantastic and exciting way of further diversifying Glebe Farm in an effort to strengthen its survival as a small-scale producer. The Pitney Farm Cafe will create local job opportunities and host a range of forward thinking events.
A little bit about Glebe Farm...
Glebe farm is a small scale, family run, Organic farm located in the beautiful village of Pitney in Somerset. The Walrond family have farmed here for over 200 years. It is this family’s open-minded attitude that has meant Glebe Farm is still thriving today. In 1999 Glebe Farm converted to Organic production, wanting to work closely with nature to give the best possible care to all their animals and the soil. In 2002 the Walrond’s opened The Pitney Farm Shop, which has created employment for local people and is now award winning and famous in Somerset! This 90 acre farm is wonderfully diverse: home to Saddleback sows, a flock of Mule ewes, which run with Dorset Down rams, native breeds of beef cattle and free-range laying hens. As well as over 50 different varieties of delicious vegetables. The flavours of Glebe Farm produce cannot be beaten! Thanks to the three generations of Walrond’s that are all hands-on in the running of the farm, and the team of devoted and passionate staff, sustainable farming is paying off to give the highest quality of produce.
The Pitney Farm Cafe - The story so far...
Our approach to opening a cafe on the farm is creative and determined. Earlier this year we brought a 20ft luxury catering trailer named Watson. This we will use as the cafe's kitchen. The cafe will be skilfully constructed around Watson, enclosing him tastefully behind willow screens, adjacent to our new building, providing all the facilities we need for the Pitney Farm Cafe. Designing the cafe with Watson means that we can really make the most out of the space in our new building. The trailer has relieved us of the cost of buying some catering equipment, as Watson comes usefully stocked. Less space taken up by a kitchen = more space for our community. Finding it hard to picture our plans? Check out our pictures below. We have included the designs that have been submitted for our planning application, plus an image of Watson the kitchen trailer.
The menu will be exciting and flexible with a vegetable and seasonality focus, whilst still offering one or two superb meat options a day. This focus on vegetarian cooking reflects our ethos for sustainable living; eat meat less often, making sure you can believe in its quality. When cooking with meat the flavours of the farm will truly stand out, as they always do. Everything on the menu will be made on the farm, from freshly baked bread and cakes to delicious hot stews, soups, curries and more.
Not just a cafe...
The Pitney Farm Cafe is not just a cafe, we will also offer a range of workshops. We are very passionate about connecting people to their food and its production. Building the cafe will mean having a space on the farm dedicated to sharing skills and information about the production of food and how best to use it. The cafe space will allow us to put on more workshops from bread making to basket weaving there is so much we want to offer!
We have already been working hard putting on one of the workshops;The Pick 'n' Cook. The Pick ’n’ Cook workshops invite children and their families to spend the morning on the farm. Together we harvest veg, cook in a make-shift outdoor kitchen, and then sit down to a delicious shared-lunch in one of our barns. These workshops have proven to be something very special. It is a fun and effective tool for helping children to eat more veg. The Pick 'n' Cook creates exciting ways for children and families to access fresh nutritious vegetables and to improve their cooking skills so they can really make the most out of it.
Glebe Farm has always been an open farm. Rob and Lizzie have a strong relationship with the local schools and children in the area. For a long time they have welcomed children to the farm for educational days teaching them about animal husbandry. Together they feed the pigs, collect the chicken eggs, visit the lambs and much more. Each year they put together an excellent Easter egg hunt which is always well attended rain or shine! This open door policy is one of the reasons that Glebe Farm is so special!
The Pitney Farm cafe will bring something very special to the local people of Pitney and the surrounding area. It will provide an open community space that can be accessed without booking ahead or planning. The space will be open for all uses and community groups will be encouraged to meet there. We look forward to becoming the hub for toddler groups, knitting groups, language classes and what ever else the community brings our way. The cafe will provide an opportunity to bump into a neighbour, to meet people in passing. The simple things that make our lives happy ones!
The Pitney Farm Cafe Harvest Supper...
At the end of September this year we fed 60 people a delicious four course meal. Using one of the sheep sheds on the farm we created a beautiful outdoor setting, with an outstanding harvest display. The display included a selection of cut flowers provided by the Electric Daisy Flower Farm. These guys produce absolutely exquisite British cut flowers using organic principles. This helped us build a truly stunning atmosphere for the evening. All of our ingredients for the menu came from Glebe Farm or other producers in Somerset such as Plowright Organic or Keens Cheddar. The evening invited friends and families to sit together and enjoy great food whilst sparing a thought for its production and the farmers working the land. The event was a real success and sold out in just over a week! Many local people were unable to get a seat at the table, and this just goes to show we need to provide more events like this so we don't have to turn anyone away.
Why is Glebe Farm a great location for a cafe...
When we speak about opening a cafe on the farm many people ask us how we can be sure we will encourage people to come and visit our rural location. We are confident that we will create a unique environment that will draw people into coming to visit our cafe. The farm shop is very popular, and only getting busier and busier, many of its customers would love to have a place to sit and relax at the farm. Our cafe will be embedded in the beautiful countryside at the centre of the farm, with lots of space for children to play, including the climbing frame and play area already located on the farm. Our spot is the perfect stop off for walkers enjoying the Somerset countryside. It is a great interim destination for the keen cyclists amongst us. Our workshops, fresh produce and smiley service will surely make an unforgettable location!
What will we spend the money on...
Our project is set to cost £35,000. This includes building the cafe and kitting it out with all of the catering equipment required to make a successful cafe and for us to put on the workshops. We are investing 10 to 15k of our own capital in this project as well as seeking out public and private funding for some more financial support. The proceeds from this crowd fund campaign will be added to these other funding avenues and will be spent on the build of the cafe structure. It will help us provide the infrastructure needed for the building such as electricity, water and heating.
Toilet Facilities...
Of course no café can be complete without the appropriate comfort stations. At present on Glebe Farm we offer very simple compost toilets. They are great and comfortable but when we open the cafe we want to up our toilet stakes. We plan to include a very sophisticated full access, indoor waterless toilet inside the cafe. These toilets will help us offer an indoor solution to our toilet needs on the farm, meaning that we can invite people to visit the cafe all year round and avoid the nasty weather that may come our way in Winter times! Check out the link below to find out more about our innovative toilet solution. http://natsol.co.uk/compost-toilet-products/
Why should you support our project...
If you are interested in supporting small scale, family farming focusing on quality and care then this is a project for you. Opening a cafe on the farm is a way of financially securing the future of Glebe Farm whilst we live in these uncertain times! Agriculture is continuing to move towards more and more intensive methods, which is damaging to the environment and society. At Glebe Farm we prioritise animal care, biodiversity and job creation. We put the planet and people first! And we do all of this whilst having fun and enjoying our lives connecting to the outdoors.
When do we plan to open...
We are focusing on opening in the summer of 2017. This deadline depends on our other funding avenues. We will continue to work hard on our project to meet this deadline.
Find out more and meet the team...
Please join us at Glebe Farm on Saturday 3rd of December 11am to 2:30 pmto find out more about our project. We are holding a mini Christmas market on the farm. Offering sweet treats, bacon sandwiches, fresh juice, mulled cider and some crafty bits for Christmas.
Thanks for reading. Any questions don't hesitate to get in touch!
Special thanks to Miss Fran Freeman the friend and artist who helped make this campaign great with her fantastic film skills! If you like her work then you can find out more by visiting her website: www.cargocollective.com/francesfreeman or e-mail her on: [email protected]
Thanks Fran, you're great!