Sheffield's Heeley City Farm display Christmas spirit by handing out free meals for children

The farm has been supporting vulnerable Sheffield residents and animals for 40 years and usually hosts an annual Christmas event featuring market stalls and festive activities.

However, staff have decided to cancel the event this year due to the impact of Covid-19.

Andrew Pearse, communications manager at Heeley City Farm, said: “Every season we have a winter fair, and they’re always amazing. We have market stalls, carol singers, and a bandstand with people performing, and it’s just a lovely event that is quite important to the community.

“Even when it’s pouring it down with rain, we still have people who are supporting us and getting involved, and everyone loves it, so to not be able to do that and provide a day of niceness for the community is quite tragic in a way.

“Hopefully, next year, we might be able to start putting the events back on again, but it’s just too soon to tell at the moment.”

Despite the cancellation of the Christmas event, the farm has pledged to still be there for families in the community over the festive period.

As part of the pledge, they will hand out meals to children on free school meals during the half term.

Children will be able to enjoy a range of activities at the farm, including iron forging and baking in the run-up to Christmas, with a free meal provided as part of a citywide initiative to stop children from going hungry during the school holidays.

The farm has recently opened a new shop built by its own volunteers and is currently selling a range of unique and handmade products just in time for Christmas.

Andrew said: “There’s always been a little hut in the garden centre selling a few bits, but it was years old and weather-beaten, so we ripped it down.

“Then over the past few months, Tony Hancocks, who does our site maintenance and a few of our volunteers chipped away and built this amazing new shop from recycled wood.

“It’s got all our new products in and other items such as knitwear that volunteers have made for the farm to sell. It’s just a nice little thing, and the fact that it has been made by our team and volunteers is great.”

Visitors can purchase a range of beeswax products, including wax polish and lip balm, made using wax from the farm’s seven beehives across the city.

They have also started making their own apple juice using apples from their food growing site.

In July this year, the registered charity and farm celebrated a huge milestone as it turned 40 years old.

Work began on the site in July 1981, and it is now a well-established community, not for profit charity and visitor attraction based on a working farm a mile from Sheffield City centre.

It has grown organically from its early days with a shed and £25 in the bank to become a well-loved part of the Heeley landscape, providing beautiful green spaces, education, employment, and training opportunities.