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The Master Gardener Programme working with urban communities: Garden Organic’s London Food Poverty Project: Southwark

The Master Gardener Programme working with urban communities: Garden Organic’s London Food Poverty Project: Southwark

Funder

The Hirschmann Foundation

Value

£17,500

Team

Geraldine Brown (PI), Nathan Kerrigan (Birmingham City University), Jana Fried

Collaborators

Garden Organic, The Hirschmann Foundation

Duration

January 2018 - December 2018

Sustainable Development Goals

No poverty logo.

Zero Hunger logo.

Good health and well-being

Reduced inequalities logo.

Introduction

Funded by The Hirschmann Foundation, The London Food Poverty Project aimed to work with communities to build resilience and knowledge so that involved communities feel confident to address the triggers of food poverty positively and proactively.

The approach used was to encourage participation in food growing and cooking when on a low income. The project targeted individuals and families living in communities across Southwark. This report presents key findings from an evaluation of Garden Organic’s London Food Poverty Project (LFPP). Carried out by a team of researchers from Coventry University.

Objectives

The aim of the evaluation was to understand if Garden Organic’s well-established Master Gardener programme could work well in a highly-urbanised area like London’s Southwark borough when focusing specifically on working with families on low income living in the most deprived areas of the borough.

Impact

The data shows that the LFPP made an impact across the borough in the following areas:

  • Building individuals confidence
  • Supporting individuals well-being
  • Developing individuals gardening and cooking skills
  • Creating a mechanism for local people to engage socially and politically in their local community
  • Creating a hub for bringing diverse groups of people together
  • Establishing a network of active volunteers
  • Creating a network of partner agencies working in the area of food insecurity
  • Offering free opportunities for local communities to access community based activities
  • Contributing strategic input to understanding and developing a borough wide action plan to address food insecurity and security

Outputs

The Master Gardener Programme working with Urban Communities Report

For more information on this project, please contact Geraldine Brown

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