A COMMUNITY farm in York, established by a university in the city, has been awarded the Best Community Initiative Award at the World Vertical Farming awards 2022.

The farm, called Grow It York, was created by the FixOurFood team at the University of York in 2021, when Professor Katherine Denby teamed up with LettUs Grow, an indoor farming technology provider from Bristol and Spark.

The annual Vertical Farming World Awards celebrates excellence and innovation across the global industry. The 14 awards span crops, technology, sustainability, and commercial initiatives.

Professor Katherine Denby, from the University of York’s Department of Biology, said: “We are so pleased to have won this award. Working with Spark to establish Grow It York has been a fascinating journey, and LettUs Grow are an inspiring team, who have helped us from the outset to build this community initiative.”

Grow It York was created as an indoor urban community farm in a shipping container, supplying hyper-local produce to the surrounding businesses and locals.