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We're just getting started
Though we've faced our share of challenges, from technical growing hurdles to financial constraints during the cost-of-living crisis, our vision remains clear: to expand our community mushroom farming model across each ward of Manchester and beyond, supporting people affected by food insecurity, creating opportunities for young people, and providing accessible education at a local level.
From bedroom experiments to community transformation – that's the FungALL journey so far… and we're just getting started!
Our Story
The FungALL story sprouted from a simple yet powerful idea: what if we could transform organic waste into delicious, nutritious mushrooms while bringing communities together?
It all started as a university final-year project when our co-founder Norton began exploring hypothetical solutions to food system collapse in anthropogenic futures.
This academic pursuit quickly bloomed into a passion for fungi and their remarkable potential. Soon enough, Norton was experimenting with mushroom cultivation in his bedroom while sharing a flat with Thomas, who would later become his co-founder.
Around this time, Norton was working on another project with Andrey, Boris and Nino — aerospace engineers and computer scientists who together developed the technology we use to power our farms, managing growth parameters and reducing maintenance.
Eventually, after knocking on many doors, we found crucial support from John, a senior youth leader at Groundwork, who helped us to establish our first community mushroom farm on the Merseybank Estate in South Manchester. Today, this humble operation produces up to 75kg of mushrooms each month and provides hot meals to local residents… and guess what now, our bigger, better farm at Forever Fields is ready for action, so stay tuned!
Our model is beautifully circular: working with probation services, we collect organic waste from our corporate partners across Manchester, who sponsor us to transform it into a growing medium for oyster mushrooms. These mushrooms are then turned into nutritious meals and distributed through local food austerity networks in Manchester.
This not only reduces food waste and carbon emissions but also tackles food poverty right where we live.
Our Team
Director
Norton Robinson
Director
Thomas Cockroft
Director
Nicole Hope
Average Impact per Partner
♻️ 20kg coffee waste diverted from landfill → 🌍 12kg CO₂e avoided
🍽️ 100 community meals cooked using local mushrooms → 🍄 390kg CO₂e saved
➡️ Total: 402kg CO₂e saved per month per partner
About FungALL
Founded in 2023, FungALL has already made great strides in tackling food insecurity and creating opportunities for young people across Manchester — by reimagining urban landscapes and transforming forgotten spaces into thriving community hubs where innovation meets impact. Our expanding network of urban farms and lab facilities brings new purpose to overlooked areas, creating dynamic centres where local waste becomes nutritious food, and communities build sustainable futures together.
At the heart of our approach are our clever, automated mushroom-growing systems, thoughtfully designed to maximise yields while minimising both environmental impact and maintenance needs. But FungALL’s vision stretches far beyond simply providing food — we’re passionate about supporting young people, helping them unleash their creativity, develop entrepreneurial skills, and take the lead on our sustainable, community-focused projects.
By supporting our educational programme, FungALL Futures, you support learning and youth opportunity — because we’re not just cultivating mushrooms for communities, we’re working with Probation Services and Community Payback Teams to provide second chances for young people, helping them build meaningful community connections and creating pathways into careers in hospitality and green industries.