UPDATE! Due to knee and shin injuries I will now be running this in September!

Never before has it been so apparent to so many that our food system has to change. We've found ourselves with an industrial food system that prioritizes profit over our health, our planet and our future, not to mention taste! It's unjust and unsustainable.

We need more localised food, smaller farms and more farmers. All supported by a public who care about their food and the impact it has on their health, their communities and their planet.

How do we get there?

Firstly, we need to arm our youth with the knowledge and passion they'll need to be the custodians of a food system that will nourish them and those to come indefinitely. There can be no sustainable food future unless the next generation value food and recognise its impact on all life in a way that this generation has failed to do.

We need to inspire them to grow food, to love food, to understand its power over their lives, their land and their climate. We need to empower them to innovate, to challenge and to fight for their future.

That is why I have established grOWN IT, an educational organisation that runs workshops to put food back in the hands of the people. We do this through working with schools as well as business and corporate groups. We focus on solutions, innovation and empowerment.

Secondly, and equally importantly, we need to ensure that farmers and producers can thrive. We need to challenge the policies and regulations that make it so hard for farmers today to make a living, especially when they try to operate in an ecologically sound way. We need to make it easier for young farmers to learn skills and access land, and we need to support all farmers in co-creating a prosperous, ecologically sound agricultural future.

No one does this work better than The Landworkers' Alliance, a union of farmers, growers, foresters and land-based workers with a mission to improve the livelihoods of members and create a better food and land-use system for everyone. I believe the expertise, intelligence, passion, energy and organisation this group demonstrate make them one of the most important bodies working in the UK today.

I have long been passionate about the power of food to heal so many of our ills, from the personal to the global. I am driven to spread this passion through grOWN IT, which I have been working hard to build, single-handedly, over the last year and a half. Like so many, I have been affected by the pandemic, having my first major contracts postponed for the foreseeable, loosing the revenue they would have brought which would have allowed me to reinvest, and to develop and grow my business and its impact. 

The silver lining for grOWN IT has been, not only the gift of time to focus on development, but that the shortcomings and failures of our food system have been laid bare and that many more people are beginning to recognise the value of food and farmers, and therefore will recognise the value of the work of organisations like grOWN IT and The Landworkers' Alliance.

I will be running two half marathons in the last week of July (I know what you're thinking... my dodgy knees don't allow me to run a whole one in one go!). Your donation will be split equally between grOWN IT and The Landworkers' Alliance.

Please help us to increase our impact. Your generosity is greatly appreciated.

-----

What will you money be funding?

grOWN IT specialises in using Vertical Farming Technology as a classroom teaching tool, to explore topics from basic botany to nutrient cycles, from future farming innovation to agroecology and regenerative farming. Currently, we use a few small, non-functional demo units. We need to invest in a hydroponic classroom growing unit that can be installed in a school for a number of weeks, then removed and taken to another school.

The heart and soul of grOWN IT is inspiring content. We are looking to work with a talented local artist to create original illustrations and graphics to bring the subject to life. Your donations will go towards funding this individual.

The funds sent to The LWA will help them to run more trainings and events and enable them to continue lobbying and campaigning for the issues that matter. They are also currently fundraising for their Solidarity Pot, providing financial support and relief for their members that are facing crises due to the pandemic. To find out more about the ongoing work of The Landworkers' Alliance, visit their website .