Farms for City Children

Who we are

‘Almost 100,000 children have been to one of our farms. But it should be millions. It’s a week that builds their self-confidence and self-worth as they work on the farm, a week full of fun too, the most memorable week of their young lives. What we do is more necessary than ever as children become ever more disconnected from the countryside, the environment, and the source of the food they eat.’ - Sir Michael Morpurgo OBE, Founder and Trustee

Farms for City Children is a national charity that gives groups of children from cities and disadvantaged backgrounds the chance to become an integral part of one of our three working farms in Devon, Pembrokeshire and Gloucestershire for a whole week. During their stay the children and their teachers/guardians live and work at the farms, explore the countryside, and find out where good food comes from. They also discover self-confidence as they conquer fears, grow in self-belief as they overcome challenges as part of hard working teams, develop new friendships, create stories and poems filled with the vibrant sounds and language of the rural environment, and learn to see a bigger, brighter future than they might realise exists beyond their crowded city horizons or day-to-day struggles.

Farms for City Children welcomes 3,000 children per year for a week-in-wellies at our farms. Children participate in the seasonal farming tasks of the week: there are no pick-and-mix preferences or opt-outs – these are purposeful activities pegged to the farming calendar. The charity subsidises at least 60% of the true cost of a week on the farm, often much more, making it as affordable as possible for all children, whatever their background.

'Some of the children we took to the farms had very difficult and chaotic lives. We took them out of a very difficult environment where they were unable to socialise and didn’t know how to share and put them into a totally different world. It was a haven where they could thrive.' - Teacher from London