Urban farm charity to receive enhanced Brand the Bus runner-up prize

A community charity that provides opportunities for people to engage with farming, animals and nature has been named this year’s Brand the Bus runner-up.

Oxford City Farm, based in East Oxford, is a welcoming urban farm that increases access to fresh, nutritious and affordable food, while reducing food waste through sustainable farming practices.

The charity has been revealed as the runner-up of Brand the Bus, the popular annual competition run by Oxford Bus Company and Thames Travel, and will receive an enhanced prize package valued at £20,000.

The prize package includes a rear bus advertisement on a double-decker bus, digital on-bus advertising, and a three-month advertising campaign featuring five 30-second radio adverts per day on Brand the Bus partner Get Radio.

Nicole Titera, Farm Lead at Oxford City Farm, said: “Everyone here at the farm is thrilled to have been named this year’s Brand the Bus runner-up.

“As a smaller community charity, this is a fantastic opportunity for us to increase awareness of the work we do, and we are truly grateful to Oxford Bus Company for allowing us to amplify our message across the city.

“This runner-up prize will have a positive impact on the charity and our community, and we’re excited to start building new partnerships and relationships.”

Staff, trustees and volunteers have been working at Oxford City Farm since 2008. A 40-year lease for the site in Cornwallis Road was secured in 2017, while a community kitchen was opened in 2021.

Entrants for Brand the Bus, now in its eighth year, were whittled down from 71 to 10 after 8,822 public votes were received during April.

A panel of experts then reviewed the top 10 to determine the winner and runner-up. Sobell House Hospice, which provides specialist palliative and end-of-life care to adults living in Oxfordshire with a life-limiting illness, and support to their family and friends, was named the overall winner.

Luke Marion, Managing Director of Oxford Bus Company and Thames Travel, said: “In our winner and runner-up, we have two incredibly worthwhile causes that carry out fantastic work across Oxfordshire.

“Both submitted fantastic cases and received brilliant feedback from the judging panel. With that in mind, we made the decision to boost the runner-up prize package, so Oxford City Farm will now additionally benefit from a rear bus advertisement.

“Brand the Bus remains a hugely respected competition with enormous reach, and we’re proud of what it continues to achieve.”

Oxford City Farm and Sobell House will work with Oxford Bus Company on the designs of the branded buses, which are expected to launch this autumn.

Last year saw children’s mental health charity One-Eighty chosen as the Brand the Bus winner, while Helen & Douglas House, the world’s first children’s hospice, became the competition’s first ever runner-up.

Previous winners of the Brand the Bus competition include Girlguiding Oxfordshire, Home-Start Oxfordshire, Blue Skye Thinking, Restore, SeeSaw, and Oxford Hospitals Charity.