Lauriston Farm - Scotland's largest urban farm - would use this funding to build an outdoor community kitchen, where residents of the local area can cook and share fresh, locally grown food, in a communal setting. Not only will this put free, nutritious food in the hands of anyone who needs it, but our meals will offer an opportunity for folk to sit down and chat together, connecting with their neighbours over delicious grub.  

The kitchen itself will also be constructed with the community,  as part of the project. We plan to run:

- 10 workshops to teach building techniques and construct an earthen shelter using earth and straw. 

- 4 facilitator-led workshops to build the clay oven.

- 30 scheduled gatherings - held throughout the growing season - for communal cooking and eating.  

Our earthen construct will provide enough shelter even during poor weather, and we'll supply all the facilities required to cook and share meals, using food from our allotments, our thriving market garden and surplus from partner organisations in the area. From plot to plate, our shared meals result in zero food miles, contain no processed ingredients and a negligible carbon footprint!  

The community kitchen has been developed as an idea with the input of our allotment holders: not only to give them a space to socialise and eat after working hard in their gardens, but to extend that welcome - and their surplus produce - to the rest of the local community. In 2023 we'll be releasing more plots to local residents, so contact us through www.lauristonfarm.scot to express your interest!