St Werburghs City farm rallies after latest break-in
It’s difficult to not feel frustrated, angry, confused, hurt or hopeless... we’re trying to be positive Julio Santamaria
ST Werburghs City Farm has launched an appeal after a break-in this week left them with severe damage following a rise in the number of incidents in recent months.
The farm shared the devastating news of the overnight damage on Monday on its Facebook page.
“So it’s difficult to not feel frustrated, angry, confused, hurt or hopeless, especially when the break-ins have become more usual, and dealing with them requires time, energy and resources that we’d prefer to put elsewhere,” the post read.
Damage to the site included a broken shed lock, stolen tools and smashed window of the city farm cafe, known affectionately as the Hobbit House. The sculpture used to collect cash donations had been blowtorched open and emptied and staff tips were stolen from the city farm cafe.
Marketing and communications operational manager Julio Santamaria said: “It’s been happening more when you see more pressure out there because of the pandemic.
“Sometimes they break in but don’t take anything, but just sleep as they’re looking for shelter. This time – and a couple of other times – things have been taken.”
This year alone, the city farm has had four break-ins, and Julio said there were mixed feelings among staff who work hard with a shared purpose to help people in need.
“We’re trying to be positive and that’s what we do – we help people out there. We do know there are people in the city that we can’t reach who are being left behind,” he said.
“Time and resources are so limited and there’s so much to do.”
He said the repair work is a distraction from the crucial work they set out to do to help the community.
St Werburghs City Farm runs from an area with neighbourhoods that fall in the top 10 per cent of most disadvantaged areas in the UK.
Child poverty is a particular problem with more than half of children living in income-deprived households in three areas within walking distance to the farm.
The farm’s core ethos is to support those who need it by offering community services to equip people with knowledge and skills, providing green sites accessible to all.
Julio said he recalled hearing staff in the cafe reflecting on how much had changed since they first got to the site 17 years ago. “In the first ten years, there was never a break-in. In the next seven, there have been multiple.”
Julio said three staff members will have to put in two to five days each to complete the repair work.
One-off payments can be made on the farm’s website and those looking to offer regular support can become monthly donors. Cash donations can still be made directly to staff in the office while the donation point is out of service and their contactless tap point is still accepting card donations.
“If more people had access to spaces like the farm there would be fewer incidents. With austerity, there are so many things that people can’t access that they used to be able to access. These things aren’t going to be solved with more policemen on the streets, they’re going to be solved with more community.”