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Darlington's Myco Foods spearheads new company promoting urban farming

A new community interest company has launched in Darlington that will look to engage with young people and prisoners within open prison environments to get them engaged in urban farming and boost their employability in the process.

Hooba Urban is a new initiative created by the Director of Darlington’s Myco Foods, John Shepherd, and Jamie Sadler of Food Nation that will provide training and support to help local participants expand their skill set.

As part of the programme, participants will collect coffee grounds from local cafes and hospitality operators which then be used to grow their own specific strain of oyster mushroom.

The mushrooms will then be harvested at four and seven week intervals, with the stems sold on to Myco foods who will also help growers sell their caps, either fresh to local cafes and restaurants or dried through their website.

Commenting on the new scheme, Shepherd said, “It was always our vision to use our own growing skills to put something back into the community, and so Hooba Urban was born.

“We are passionate about reducing the amount of food that is wasted year on year in the UK and coffee grounds create the perfect environment to grow our tasty mushrooms.”

Those taking part will be fully trained by Sadler who will school them on how to prepare and use oyster mushrooms and Hooba products, along with basic cooking skills as part of a wider introduction to a healthy and sustainable lifestyle.

For the programme taking place in a prison environment, Myco has said it will provide growing containers, and full training to help participants gain maximum yield and quality from their harvests.

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