A new campaign, Food Glorious Food, which aims to inspire children to plant, nurture, grow, harvest and eat their own local and seasonal food launches today.
The campaign follows hard on the heels of the Trust’s allotments announcement and is designed to create a new generation of growers. The Trust will give away over 170 million free seeds, which is equal to up to four million pumpkins, 26 million bags of rocket leaves and 70 million lettuces, and share advice with children through a programme of special events that will start during the May half term.
The campaign will start families on a growing journey to suit their lifestyles. The seeds that will be given away are easy-grow pumpkins for those with a garden and salad rocket or baby lettuce for those with less space and which challenge the myth that you need a garden to grow your own. Both baby lettuce and salad rocket can be easily cultivated in a garden of any size - or in a pot, sink, window box – and even a welly.
A new interactive website has been developed to support families each step of way. It features a virtual vegetable patch where children can care for pet plants that need tendering and care just as real plants do, so they can learn what to do in the garden.
Once registered, young growers will receive weekly step-by-step advice from National Trust gardeners on how to grow their plants in the form of helpful friendly characters. The website also features factual information and advice for parents including a guide to growing the seeds and child-friendly recipes.
Fiona Reynolds, Director General of the National Trust said:
'Growing our own food is, and will increasingly become, an essential skill. Through this campaign we want to reach and inspire a new generation of young people to connect with the land and grow food.
We know that once children get started they are hooked. The experience of growing food from seed is enthralling. So the focus of Food Glorious Food is on action and involvement, encouraging children to learn and enjoy by doing.'
'Many people don’t realise that vegetables can be grown in small spaces, such as a window box or small pots. Old car tyres are great for growing potatoes and buckets are perfect for all kinds of root vegetables. We want to use the Trust’s 100-plus years of experience to help children to have fun discovering how easy it is to grow food.'
Food Glorious Food is part of our commitment to sustainable food production which also includes the campaign to create 1,000 new allotments and involvement in the ‘Eat Seasonably’ campaign to promote eating seasonal fresh fruit and vegetables. The commitment also covers sustainable food production from the Trust’s land and the use of high quality, local, seasonal and sustainable food in its kitchens and restaurants.
The free seeds are part of a wide range of exciting local food events happening at National Trust properties between May half term and the end of October 2009. Over five hundred events are planned throughout the year, ranging from hands-on growing workshops and pumpkin planting days, to farmers’ markets and live cookery demonstrations.
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