Our work with Ongo
Ongo bring a group of adults to visit us every month. Together, we develop skills, increase confidence, and encourage aspirations for people from all walks of life.
Ongo are a local community organisation operating in Scunthorpe and the surrounding villages.
They work with adults and families to offer employment and housing support, and provide a range of positive social groups.
They run The Arc, a community hub in Westcliffe, Scunthorpe, where a lot of Ongos housing is located. It’s a brilliant centre with a cafe, shared work spaces, a post office, and lots of events for families.
As part of their employability schemes, Ongo help people arrange work experience, develop their CVs and apply for jobs and apprenticeships.
During their time at Hall Farm Eastoft, Ongo visitors work on projects such as renovating spaces, building paths, and mending equipment, as well as looking after the animals, and cooking group lunches from fresh produce.
We put a focus on working as a team and having a positive outlook on the future. We aim to work on projects that are essential, and take the day to complete to feel a sense of success and pride at the end of the day.
This week, some of the group prepared a lunch with produce from the garden including potatoes, courgettes and runner beans. Cooking and eating together brings everyone together in a sociable environment. We made barbeque chicken using local meat, but the BBQ part got rained off! The recipe went home with a few people- it went down a treat!
Some of the group helped staff to create an updated workshop space that will be used by future clients almost every day. It even got used immediately when one person helped staff to make signs for a new Recycling Centre project we’re working on.
Painting benches to brighten up the farm
Despite the wet weather, lots of benches got painted and lots of signs were made for around the farm too, benefiting hundreds of people every month!
Using the new workshop space to build signs for the new recycling centre
Whilst looking at our pigs, a great conversation about British meat got going. The subject of Brexit came up, and honestly it’s hard to say what it will mean for British Farming and food, but we’re so pleased that people are considering where their food comes from, how it’s produced, and who produces it.
All we can say is that buying British meat ensures a high quality of life for the animals, and it supports people just like us all around the country who work year round to produce food for the supermarkets. We’d love to hear your thoughts on the subject!