Membership

There are two types of membership of Common Soil – vegetable membership and community membership.

We have been at full capacity for vegetable membership but are expanding in June 2024 and will have 15 new spaces for people to receive regular veg. You can sign up online here or register your interest now by email. There is always space for new community members and you can sign up for that below.

All members have one share in Common Soil as a Community Benefit Society and can have a say over how it is run. With either type of membership, you’re signing up as part of our farm community; to a movement for change where we reclaim where our food comes from and how it is farmed, with minimal damage to the environment and greater connection to the seasons, the land and each other. We’re grateful for everyone that joins us in this.

Vegetable membership – a year of veg

Key details:

• Eat veg from our field for a full year from 26 June 2024.
• Includes community membership plus a share of the regular harvest.
• Weekly veg box June to Dec, fortnightly veg box Jan to June.
• Collection from the field (GL5 1PW) on a Wednesday from 4pm.
• Cost – sliding scale £47.75 (subsidised for low income) – £56.25 (middle income) – £68.90 (higher income) every month.
• New spaces for veg from June 2024. Sign up online now.

“I really appreciate having delicious veg grown on our doorstep that I know hasn’t been covered in pesticides or wrapped in plastic”
― Common Soil vegetable member

Vegetable members join us for a full year and get a share all of our harvests of fresh vegetables, salads, herbs and occasional fruit, all grown at our site.

From 26 June (summer solstice time) to 25 December (winter solstice time) veg is harvested weekly, so every Wednesday from 4pm you can collect your share from the farm. From January to June, everything grows more slowly and the value of local vegetables goes up, so harvesting is fortnightly for you to collect your share of what’s there every other Wednesday.

Veg boxes typically contain six to eight different items in a quantity sufficient for two people and contents varies with the seasons. Signing up for half the amount is also a possibility. Eating our veg is a great way to align your diet (and gut microbes) with your local environment and reduce your carbon footprint. Find out more about the veg boxes.

As a community supported agriculture scheme, we offer a partnership between food grower and consumer throughout the year. You have a share of the farm and receive the abundance of produce when it’s there and support the farm through leaner times. Find out more about our community supported agriculture model.

Payment for veg is for the year or split equally throughout the year, so the farm has a stable income, you have stable outgoings, and we can all plan ahead! We understand we’re asking for trust and commitment and we’ll provide transparency, community, hard work, care and love for your food in return.

The annual cost for a regular ‘share of the harvest’ box and membership is £675. This equates to £15.98 a veg box (40 boxes) and £3 per month community membership (see below for the benefits, such as events, having a vote in how things are run and getting involved). You can either pay the full amount upfront or split it into 12 equal payments of £56.25 per month, by standing order.

However, in the name of food justice – ensuring our food is accessible to a wide range of people – we’re offering the veg boxes on a solidarity pricing scale, so you can select to pay what you can realistically afford to.

£573 per year or £47.75 per month for 12 months for those on a low income who are struggling to make ends meet and want to request a subsidy to make the veg affordable to them.

£675 per year or £56.25 per month for 12 months for those on a middle/average income.

£827 per year or £68.90 per month for 12 months for those on a higher income or with savings that allow them to comfortably afford the veg.

You can also choose anywhere between these points. So, you could choose £58 per month, for example. If you’d like more guidance on what is considered low, middle or high income then there’s a helpful table on our FAQs page.

The additional income from the higher end of the scale goes to subsidising the cost for those who find it harder to afford. Minimum farm budgets are based on the middle income rate, so we rely on members to tell us what is truly affordable for them at this time to make the project work. The running of the farm is heavily subsidised by grants/donations and is a non-profit operation. If the cost is still prohibitive for you then please get in touch to enquire about a fuller bursary and we will explore finding more grant funding.

We’re currently at full capacity for vegetable membership. We have a waiting list that you can join and we’ll be in touch when a spot comes up. Register your interest and join the waiting list by email.

Community membership

Key details:

• Invited to join events, celebrations, workshops and farm tours.
• Can join in with workdays or more regularly get involved with the growing.
• Able to purchase extra produce when it’s available.
• Making a donation to support the farm.
• Cost – £3 per month.

Community members are part of the farm – support it, can get involved with activities and access additional produce when available (doesn’t include regular veg boxes – see above for vegetable membership).

By joining us in this way, you’re also part of a movement of people committed to local, chemical-free food production to support the environment, people’s health and their connection to the land, food growing and each other. You’re also supporting Common Soil as a farm.

As a community member you can:

– Attend events, work days and celebrations: This includes seasonal events such as a harvest event, summer celebration or candlemas and community work days.

– Have a say in how the farm is run: Common Soil is a Community Benefit Society, which is a form of co-operative. All members have a share in the Society and can have a say in how the organisation is run on a one member one vote basis (but this does not mean you have any personal financial liability for the organisation). The main opportunity to input will be through attending the annual general meeting, which you’ll be invited to in March each year.

– Come and get involved in growing the food: We love to have people involved and people tell us that they get a lot out of it in terms of learning, feeling connected to the environment and getting to know more local people. Find out more about volunteering.

– Access additional produce when available: Members will be offered to purchase additional produce on an adhoc basis from the farm when it’s available.

To sign up for community membership fill out this form and we’ll be in touch: