#UrbanHarvest2024 - Celebrating London’s food gardens this harvest season

It may not be apparent but across London there are over 4000 food growing spaces, tucked away in church yards, park corners, disused yards and meanwhile spaces. Between 1-29 September, it’s all about the harvest for these spaces as they reap the rewards of their hard work.

This year marks London’s 15th Urban Harvest festival and Londoners are invited to get stuck in at a garden near them with a month of events and open days at community gardens across the capital.

With the ongoing support from City Bridge Foundation, Capital Growth is back with a “Growing for Nature” theme for this year’s annual festival, to further highlight and promote the role that London’s urban food gardens play in addressing the climate and nature emergency. This year’s participating gardens are invited to organise a community meal, lead a bug count, weigh in their largest pumpkin and shout about how important these spaces are for the people and nature that inhabit them. 

Rachel Dring Capital Growth Coordinator has said:

"This year we’ve seen the most bizarre weather on record, with farmers and gardeners alike having the hardest growing conditions yet. With that in mind it gives us even more reason to celebrate the harvest and not take any of the risk and rigour of producing food for granted. We also use this festival month to recognise the role urban food gardens play in creating crucial biodiversity corridors and habitats for wildlife. Food growing communities are some of the most welcoming spaces for people too! During Urban Harvest they swing open their gates to connect and build more meaningful relationships with locals. Join us!"

Find out more at https://www.capitalgrowth.org/urban-harvest/

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Press enquiries:  

Rachel Dring, Capital Growth Coordinator  Rachel.dring@sustainweb.org or call 020 3559 6777. Photos available on request. 

Social media:  

Twitter: @Capital_Growth | Facebook @capitalgrowth | Instagram @capital_growth  

#UrbanHarvest2024

Notes to editors:  

Capital Growth is London’s community food growing network providing an ongoing support for food growers and growing spaces across the capital but also occupying a central and consistent role in pushing community food growing up the political, urban agenda: www.capitalgrowth.org 

The programme is run by food and farming charity, Sustain: www.sustainweb.org 

Capital Growth’s programme is funded by The City of London Corporation’s charity funder, City Bridge Foundation which is London’s largest independent grant giver, making grants of more than £25 million a year to support good causes and tackle disadvantage across the capital: https://www.citybridgefoundation.org.uk/

The festival runs from Sunday 1 September to Sunday 29 September, 2024.