A SCOTTISH urban farm has closed to the public due to the coronavirus outbreak but will stay open as a foodbank.
Love Gorgie Farm in Edinburgh will also deliver free breakfast for children amid school closures.
The farm is making a call for volunteers to help with the deliveries, as well as appealing for food supplies to stock its foodbank and to be able to cater to as many children as possible.
This decision comes after the decision from the UK and Scottish governments to close all leisure spaces, such as restaurants and bars, during a time when schools will be closed too.
Education and social care charity Love Learning – which recently took ownership of the Love Gorgie Farm – aims to support children in the community, especially those from deprived areas, by ensuring that they can start the day well fed. The urban farm is also providing a takeaway menu from its recently opened cafe.
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Love Gorgie Farm reopened last month after the site had gone into liquidation in November 2019. Last week, Love Learning announced it would launch new services on the farm and it had plans to open the farm cafe today. The site’s team will still be working behind closed doors to maintain the operation and take care of the animals until the emergency measures are lifted.
To ensure that the site can reopen as soon as it is secure for the public and the team, Love Gorgie Farm is also encouraging those wanting to help to support them with donations and supplies.
Two pages have been set up – an Amazon shopping list and a Go Fund Me page – for those who want to help the farm stay afloat remotely.
Lynn Bell of Love Learning commented: “We will be delivering free breakfast every morning so the children in the community can enjoy at least a meal a day now that schools are closed and we will also maintain our foodbank to ensure that vulnerable people can have access to food.”
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