Shuttleworth College Students Grow Fresh Produce for Local Bedford Food Bank

Students from Shuttleworth College have been putting their agricultural skills to work for the local community by growing and donating fresh produce to the Bedford Food Bank on Murdock Road.

Over the past year, groups of students from across the College, including around 15 T-Level Agriculture students, five Level 3 Horticulture students and 15 Land & Wildlife students at Levels 2 and 3 have taken part in the project. From preparing beds and propagating seeds to watering, feeding and pruning young plants, students were actively involved in every stage of the process before their summer break.

Neil Sampson, Tutor at Shuttleworth College, said: “I’m incredibly proud of the effort our students have put into this project. They’ve learned valuable skills in food production, from seed to harvest, while also seeing the positive impact their work can have on the community. Donating produce to the Bedford Food Bank is a great way for them to apply their learning in a real and meaningful way. It shows them that agriculture isn’t just about growing food, it’s about supporting people and making a difference.”

Once the 2024-2025 academic year ended, Shuttleworth staff continued to nurture the crops and made regular deliveries of fresh produce to the food bank, around every two weeks throughout the summer. This marks the second consecutive year of supporting the Bedford Food Bank through home grown donations.

The produce is grown using a variety of innovative systems, including raised earth beds, hydroponics and aquaponics, where nutrient-rich fish waste replaces the need for traditional plant feed, while plants naturally filter and clean the water for the fish.

So far this summer, donations have included 10kg of tomatoes every fortnight, 10-15 cucumbers every fortnight, 5-10 aubergines every fortnight and around 5kg of beetroot in total.

With the start of the new academic year, students also began harvesting fruit from Shuttleworth’s walled garden and Mech Yard Orchard, where a strong crop of apples, pears, and plums is expected.

Sarah Broughton, Operations Director at Bedford Foodbank said: “Bedford foodbank are extremely grateful to the students of Shuttleworth College donating their fresh produce. With the rising cost of food and other essentials, households using Bedford Foodbank have been delighted to receive fresh produce alongside of our standard parcels.”

This initiative not only provides vital support to the community and those in need but also gives students hands on experience in sustainable food production, building skills they can take forward into their future careers in agriculture and land-based industries.

It also reflects the wider vision of The Bedford College Group – ‘to be the best and most authoritative post-16 educator in the South Midlands’ – by combining educational excellence with social responsibility and innovation to benefit the local community with a sustainable approach.