Community Food Platform & Trade Ordering System Development

The Challenge

Growing Local is a Community Interest Company (CIC) dedicated to encouraging and educating communities to grow, cook and eat local food.

In summer 2023, the organisation took over a new 19-acre site on the southern edge of Hereford to establish The Southside Farm, delivering:

• A Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) veg box scheme
• A children’s educational garden
• Heritage orchards
• Future plans for a cook studio and indoor teaching space

As the organisation expanded, their existing website no longer supported their operational and commercial needs.

They required:

• A modern, scalable website
• A structured ordering system for veg boxes
• Clear communication of their mission and farm activities
• Improved user experience for both community members and trade customers

Our Approach

We delivered a full website rebuild alongside a structured WooCommerce ordering system tailored to their CSA model.

WordPress Website Rebuild

We redesigned and rebuilt the Growing Local website using WordPress to:

• Clearly communicate the organisation’s mission
• Showcase The Southside Farm development
• Improve content structure and accessibility
• Support future expansion plans
• Create a scalable foundation for ongoing growth

The new site balances community storytelling with operational functionality.

CSA Veg Box & Trade Ordering System (WooCommerce)

A key component of the project was implementing an e-commerce system for their veg box scheme.

Using WooCommerce, we developed:

• Structured veg box ordering functionality
• Clear product presentation
• User-friendly checkout process
• Scalable backend management
• Support for recurring and trade-style ordering

This system allows Growing Local to manage their Community Supported Agriculture scheme efficiently while supporting sales growth.

Supporting Community & Commercial Goals

The website now supports:

• Direct-to-consumer veg box sales
• Community engagement and education
• Promotion of farm activities and events
• Future expansion into cook studio and indoor teaching facilities

The platform acts as both a community hub and a commercial tool.

Impact

Following the rebuild and system implementation, Growing Local now benefits from:

• A modern, scalable digital presence
• Structured veg box sales through WooCommerce
• Improved clarity around their CSA scheme
• A website aligned with long-term farm expansion
• A digital platform that supports both mission and revenue

The organisation now has infrastructure capable of supporting its evolving vision.

What This Demonstrates

This project highlights The DM Lab’s ability to:

• Support community interest companies with scalable digital systems
• Develop WooCommerce-based ordering platforms
• Align e-commerce functionality with community-led initiatives
• Build flexible WordPress platforms for future expansion
• Combine mission-led storytelling with commercial structure