Summer holidays are coming to an end but we’re excited to go “back to school” for another year of building on the tremendous success of our Food Growing Schools: London project.
Garden Organic, working with the Food Growing Schools: London project partners, are geared up to deliver support, activities, training and resources to hundreds of participants across the capital as pupils return to the classroom and their school food growing projects.
From growing food in school gardens, to cooking it in school kitchens and selling it at local market events, the Food Growing Schools: London project is giving pupils in our country’s most populous urban centre a chance to live healthier, happier and more environmentally sustainable lifestyles.
There is still a way to go to meet the ambitious objective of getting every school in London growing food but there is certainly lots to celebrate from the first three years of the original project.
Evaluation* of the project’s growing impact in the city has highlighted Food Growing Schools: London’s contribution:
- 87% of schools are now engaged in food growing*
- 79% of schools report students are more aware of nature, healthy eating and sustainability
- 54% of schools report improved behaviour or attainment
- 25% of schools now link food growing to the curriculum
- 1,000 school staff and volunteers have received food growing training
Some key achievements include:
- Six Schools Marketplaces at City Hall – and more in local boroughs
- Two School Food Growing Conferences
- Heritage Seed Library Seed Guardian Project – with Garden Organic
- Schools Oca Growing Project – as part of ‘Grow Around the World’ activities
- Growathon – engaging over 76,000 pupils in food growing
- Delivered 40 school assemblies across London to help kick start food growing in schools
- Partnership with the Food Flagship Boroughs of Croydon and Lambeth
- Partnership with Borough Councils through the Good Food for London report
You can help
If you want to help give pupils in London the chance to grow food at school, here are a few simple actions you can take to get involved.
- Follow us on Twitter, like our Facebook page, sign up to our e-newsletter
Wherever you may live in this great country, we appreciate the support in helping to build our online community and to amplify our voice. Many of our resources, tips and tricks are useful and designed to be used in any part of the country.
- Share the Schools Survey and our website
If you know someone based in London, why not mention the project to them? For completing our survey they will receive a term-time planner, seeds and also have the chance to win prizes like vouchers or other items.*
- Be a volunteer and leader in your community
Many schools in London are looking for volunteers, items or funding to kick start or develop food growing projects. Offer your time, knowledge, skills or spare gardening tools to a school near you – find out how.
- Support charities who stand up for what you believe in
The Food Growing Schools: London project is a partnership of charities. While the FGSL project doesn’t accept charitable donations for funding, the partners who deliver worthwhile projects all across the UK could use your support.
Garden Organic is calling for donations to the Fighting Fund to react quickly and directly when the rights of organic growers are threatened and this is especially important during these turbulent political times.
Want to know more about our partners?
Find out here about the incredible work the other Food Growing Schools: London partner charities are doing and how you can support their work.
*All statistics in this article are based on evaluation surveys with lead school teachers in Sept 2013 (n=504) and Jan 2017 (n=313). Evaluation was conducted by Prof Mat Jones, Emma Weikamp (both UWE Bristol) and Hannah Pitt (Cardiff University) Public Health and Wellbeing Research Group, UWE, Frenchay Campus, Bristol, BS16 1QY
*Of the schools that participated in the FGSL survey, the percentage of schools engaged in food growing has risen from 72% to 87% since 2013.
*Free term time planner, seeds, vouchers and prizes are available while stocks last and some items may not be available to everyone.
Food Growing Schools: London is a partnership initiative led by Garden Organic.