Press Release 12 Mar 2009

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A St Helens school is taking on the challenge of growing their own food thanks to a £10,000 grant from Local Food, a new funding programme supported by the Big Lottery Fund.

St Aelred’s Catholic Technology College is one of the first organisations to receive funding from the £50 million Local Food Programme which will be funding food related community projects right across the country.

The ‘Food For Thought’ project will enable a plot of land to be transformed into a school allotment, providing opportunities for young people to develop their skills whilst working alongside the local allotment group and Horticulture Society.

Brian Lomas, St Aelred’s College Operations Manager said:

“We see this as a great means of strengthening community links as well as providing a stimulus to promote local food growing and healthy eating.

“The allotment will not merely serve the community of St. Aelred's but also allow older pupils to mentor or 'buddy' with pupils from the feeder primary schools and also extend the already strong activity links we have with a set of local special schools, namely Mill Green and Wargrave House.”

Mark Wheddon, Local Food Programme Manager said:

“It is projects like this that have a wide and lasting impact on the community and we are happy to support them. The ‘Food For Thought’ project marks just the beginning in terms of Local Food grants. With a record £50 million to distribute to various groups we will begin to see a real change in the accessibility of local food.”

Local Food has been developed by a consortium of 15 national environmental organisations, and is managed on their behalf by the Royal Society of Wildlife Trusts (RSWT). Supported by the Big Lottery Fund's Changing Spaces programme, Local Food will distribute grants to a variety of food related projects to make locally grown food more accessible.

-ENDS-