Farm 'tackling loneliness' appeals for more volunteers

Wedmore Village Farm is run by volunteers and grows free food for food banks and schools

Volunteers running a community farm are appealing for more people to help with this year's harvest and join its men's club.

Wedmore Village Farm, in Somerset, grows free food for schools and food banks, and it also operates a Men's Shed, which aims to tackle loneliness.

After a bumper crop of fruit and vegetables from last year's heavy rainfall and the recent hot weather, more help is needed to process the produce.

Jack Helme, the market garden assistant, says it is "lovely" to have such a biodiverse site and those who volunteer hope to build community resilience "by taking care of nature and each other".

Market garden assistant, Jack Helme, says volunteers benefit from being on the farm in many different ways

Mr Helme says farms were traditionally somewhere that people would "gather together and connect to the land" but said that idea had been "lost a bit".

"We're really trying to build community resilience, and it's great to do that with all the people that benefit in many different ways here," he said.

The farm has produced a bumper crop of fruit and vegetables after a wet winter and hot summer

Volunteer Derek Logan said it is "important that we get new members".

"People come and go, so we're always looking for volunteers to come and join us."