Capital Growth announces 1000th community food garden

• Mayor's target of 2,012 spaces by the end of 2012 exceeds halfway point
• Latest small grants provides 100+ groups with cash boost
• Eleven lucky Capital Growth gardens win Chelsea Garden prize  

Sudbourne Primary school in Lambeth has been named as the 1000th Capital Growth space by the Mayor today, confirming London's ‘grow your own’ scheme is now halfway towards its overall target. The Mayor also revealed that an estimated 35,000 green-fingered volunteers are now helping to cultivate these food oases.

The Mayor, Boris Johnson, launched Capital Growth in 2008 with London Food Link to help green the city, boost volunteering and improve quality of life. It is a practical response to the rising interest in ‘grow your own’ and lengthening waiting lists for allotments that can be decades long.  As the 1000th space, Sudbourne primary has won a £1,000 grant to support a gardening club and help classes plant a range of food products including wheat to grind at a local windmill, all of which is linked to the curriculum.

There are now in total 1032 Capital Growth spaces thriving in a diverse range of places including schools, universities, hospitals, on rooftops, in housing estates and community centres. The scheme has attracted a wide range of private and public sector supporters since its launch, as well as its estimated 35,000 gardening volunteers. Partner organisations include 18 borough councils, ten housing associations, Transport for London and British Waterways. Capital Growth also runs competitions to get schools and housing estates growing. Just recently, 11 lucky Capital Growth spaces struck gold by winning the elements of two award winning RHS Chelsea Flower Show gardens presented by B&Q and Bulldog Tools, both long-time supporters of the scheme.   

Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, said: ‘More than one thousand Capital Growth community gardens have now sprung up across London helping to bind communities together and spruce up neglected areas of land. Collectively, this awesome army of gardeners are helping to bring the best of the village into our busy city to improve quality of life.'

Rosie Boycott, Chair of London Food, said: ‘Capital Growth has become an exemplar for urban food growing in a big city. Each of our spaces tells a remarkable story in its own right delivering a host of social and environmental benefits. We are even seeing economic enterprise springing up. It’s not too late to get involved and we want even more Londoners to get growing to get us to our overall target of 2012 food gardens.’

Seb Mayfield, London Food Link, said: ‘We are delighted to have reached the landmark of supporting 1000 spaces. We look forward to continuing to support our existing network, as well as welcoming many more groups who will join in the coming months.'   

The Mayor also confirmed that in the last round of Capital Growth small grants, 100 budding food growing projects in 21 boroughs across London have received a cash boost to help them get plant their own fruit and veg. Schools and community groups are amongst the lucky recipients of small pots of money ranging from £200 to £1000. Recipients will generally use their money to pay for equipment such as tools, soil, compost, and wood for raised beds. Those interested in benefiting from future funding rounds should register with Capital Growth to ensure they don't miss out.

Projects receiving money from the latest Capital Growth small grant round are in the following boroughs (with the number of grants awarded): Barking and Dagenham (2); Barnet (2); Bexley (1); Brent (1) ;Bromley (1); Camden (3); Croydon ( 3 ); Ealing (1); Enfield (11); Greenwich (1); Hackney (10); Haringey (7); Hillingdon (1) ; Islington (7); Kensington & Chelsea (10) ; Lambeth (7); Lewisham (9); Merton (6); Newham (1); Redbridge (2); Richmond (3); Southwark (9); Sutton (1); Tower Hamlets (12); Waltham Forest (7) ; Wandsworth (5) and Westminster (1).

Examples of projects receiving funding include:

• 'Friendly Food', a project being set up by the Brockley Tenants Co-op in Lewisham. The group will be turning a derelict piece of land on their street in to a community food-growing space. Ten residents will be involved and the group will be using their funding to clear rubbish, purchase tools and install a greenhouse.
• The Future Laboratory, a company based in Tower Hamlets, which is creating a vertical food-growing structure that will be maintained by members of staff. The produce will be used in the staff kitchen to produce their lunch. It is envisaged that 30 members of staff will become involved in the project.   

The Mayor announced this milestone at Capital Growth space 269, Food in the Sky, which is on Budgens' food store roof in Crouch End. This community food garden grows fresh fruit and veg that gets sold in the Budgens store eight feet below. Store staff also volunteer at the space in their spare time. Pupils at local secondary school, Highgate Wood , are also set to grow mushrooms on the roof, which they will then sell to Budgens once grown. Money generated from the mushrooms will be used in their school's own Capital Growth plot, showing the potential of the overall scheme for the stimulation of local micro economies.

 
Andrew Thornton, owner of Budgens in Crouch End, said: 'Food from the Sky is all about connecting us with our community, external and internal. Customers love buying the product and coming to our open days, volunteers (aged 3 to 73!) love giving up their time to grow food on our roof and over 600 primary and secondary school children will spend time in our sky garden this year learning about food growing, sustainability and biodiversity. Internally, a number of my team have really connected with food growing and our values about a more sustainable future. In this one project, we have connected with hundreds, if not thousands in our communities on our values and a vision for a better and more responsible world.'

 
Capital Growth has been developed and managed by London Food Link, part of Sustain. It is funded by the Mayor and the Big Lottery's Local Food programme. The project provides practical advice and training as well offering small grant rounds (at limited times) to provide financial support.

 
Capital Growth is taking part in this weekend's Open Gardens Squares Weekend (11th-12th June, 2011). 22 Capital Growth gardens will be taking part in the yearly event, allowing local people to get a taster of community food growing. For more information, visit: www.capitalgrowth.org / http://www.opensquares.org/

 
Ends

Notes to editors:

• For more information on which projects have received grants, please contact: localsdesk@london.gov.uk
• Capital Growth has run five small grant rounds offering financial help to 559 projects across London.  
• 10 spaces won part of the B&Q garden from the Chelsea Flower Show, consisting a range of plants, both edible and ornamental.  One space won the whole of the Bulldog Tools garden from the Chelsea Flower Show, consisting of edible and ornamental plants, as well as a range of tools.  Both gardens won a gold medal at the show.   For more information on which spaces won, contact: localsdesk@london.gov.uk
• Capital Growth is funded by the Mayor of London and by the Big Lottery's Local Food programme . It is managed by London Food Link, part of the environment charity, Sustain. The programme has been awarded a Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) Commendation for its success in getting communities growing.
• Boosting the amount of locally grown food in London has a range of health and environmental benefits to improve quality of life, such as improving access to nutritious, low cost food in urban areas, reducing anti-social behaviour, sparking social enterprise and acting to promote community cohesion. It also reduces food miles and cuts carbon emissions.

For media enquiries please call Hilary Merrett or Nicola Dillon at the Mayor’s Press Office on 020 7983 4755/4066 or Capital Growth officers Seb Mayfield or Sarah Williams on 0203 5596 777.