After a successful pilot year in 2007, Food Up Front is expanding in to the borough of Merton, hoping to encourage even more London residents to grow food in their unused outdoor space.
The team are working hard to prepare the start of the 2008 growing season and they are keen to hear from people who would like to join the scheme or become a Food Up Front representative in their street.
The team attracted an unexpected amount of interest in its pilot year, with interviews on television and radio, culminating in the Green Guardian award for Best Green Project.
The project is designed to give anyone and everyone the tools and knowledge necessary to grow something, no matter how small their space.
Seb Mayfield, co-founder of the project, said: “We want to show people that they don’t need an allotment or large garden to grow food. Any space is appropriate, including balconies and even window sills.
Once people feel that they have support, they feel more confidence to have a go at growing. It is also a great way to develop community interaction, especially when a number of people are involved in the same street.”
On registration, residents will receive a starter kit, with everything they need to get going in a matter of weeks. The kit even includes compost from London garden waste, along with green boxes, previously used as recycling containers.
The food growing has been accompanied by evening events, enabling participants to meet each other over drinks.
Zoe Lujic, Seb’s project partner, said: “By starting small, some participants have found the confidence to develop their food growing and have gone on to grow a variety of different vegetables, including beans, carrots and spinach. Others have just enjoyed the fact that they could pick salad leaves and herbs, rather than buying them in a packet.”
A registration event will be held in conjunction with the Sustainable Merton Green Drinks on March 12th.
For more information about the Food Up Front project visit www.foodupfront.org.
