Farm Urban was founded in 2013 by Dr Paul Myers and Dr Jens Thomas, rooted in a shared belief that the food system could be a powerful lever for improving health, equity and environmental outcomes if reimagined from the ground up. Emerging from Paul’s background in epigenetics; how our environments shape health and Jens’ expertise in advanced science and systems thinking, Farm Urban began as a response to the disconnect between food production, communities and wellbeing. From the outset, the organisation chose a model of vertical farming that embedded food growing directly into urban communities as a tool for education, access and behaviour change.

Farm Urban’s mission is to transform towns, cities and organisations into greener, healthier and more inclusive places. We do this by embedding sustainable food production, education and research into the fabric of everyday life, using vertical farming to grow nutritious food that is good for people and the planet, improving access to healthy produce, and empowering communities with the skills, knowledge and confidence to shape a fairer, more resilient food system.

Farm Urban began as a hands-on experiment in rethinking how food could be grown in cities. In its earliest days, the team built and tested some of their first systems on the roof of the Liverpool Guild of Students and in the basement of the Liverpool Life Sciences University Technical College (UTC). These improvised, low-resource spaces became living laboratories, places to trial aquaponic, aeroponic and hydroponic systems, learn through failure, and prove that high-quality food could be grown sustainably in unconventional urban environments. This early work laid the foundations for Farm Urban’s practical, research-led approach: start small, stay curious, and design systems that work for real places and real communities.

Farm Urban’s move to the former Uber HQ at Brunswick Business Park marked a step change in both scale and ambition. The new space gave the team room to refine operations, increase production and embed a culture of excellence across everything they do, while staying true to their experimental roots. Here, systems have been continually optimised to improve yields, energy efficiency and crop quality, enabling Farm Urban to donate more fresh, nutritious food to the community than ever before. Just as importantly, the site has become a place to learn and explore: a working farm, research facility and education hub where new ideas are tested, students and communities are welcomed in, and the next generation of urban food solutions is shaped through curiosity, collaboration and hands-on experience.

As Farm Urban has grown, expansion has been driven through deep, place-based partnerships rather than replication alone. In South London, Manchester, Clackmannanshire and Plymouth, Farm Urban has worked alongside anchor institutions such as universities, local authorities, foundations and established community organisations to embed projects that are locally relevant, resilient and community-led. These partners bring essential local knowledge, trust and infrastructure ensuring each project responds to the social, cultural and health priorities of its place, while universities and research institutions strengthen learning, evaluation and innovation. This collaborative approach allows Farm Urban to adapt its model to different contexts, support effective implementation on the ground, and build long-term systems that communities can own, operate and grow into the future.