Last night I had a very strange dream that involved a long procession of people carrying a vast amount of fruit and vegetables into community kitchens. Their laden bounty appeared in glorious technicolour including blood vessel-bursting red tomatoes, brilliant green, long and slender cucumbers, and the deepest and darkest purple aubergines.
Inside their neighbourhood kitchens, the characters from within my dream enjoyed and shared their healthy meals together as they laughed and chatted amicably. Amongst this convivial and warm-hearted atmosphere, delicious and hearty soups and stews made from locally grown inner-city London vegetables were placed in front of the expectant and hungry diners.
When I woke up, I realised that this early hour’s hallucination was not about some wealthy hipsters in a new and trendy neighbourhood restaurant using local produce to entice people inside. No, the reality is much more down to earth and is taking place within a mind-boggling network of local community food projects across London. This local food growing revolution is driven by a belief in combatting food poverty, helping the environment and getting people eating healthily together. I wanted to find out more and so I set off to hear from those involved.
Richenda Wilson, marketing coordinator at Growing Communities – a community farm in Dagenham Farm East London, grows crops including organic salad leaves and herbs for a vegetable box scheme that serves the local community. She said: “Our produce is just a few miles and a few hours from our plot to people’s plate, and this helps to maintain freshness and nutrition. The farm’s covered space also allows tomatoes, cucumbers, beans, and courgettes to flourish in this East London Garden of Eden.
On another site, Michaela Crunkleton-Wilson, market garden lead from Black Growth, operates an amazing quarter-acre market garden in South London where they have grown a belly busting 350 kg of fresh produce. Hosting regular community days and collaborating with 27 local organisations, the project ensures access to land, skills, and culturally relevant food. They plan monthly community days on their land and are expanding their growing and engagement programmes. Some of the produce is also turned into chutneys and sold at local retail pop ups such as Herne Hill market and at Brockwell Park Community Greenhouse Shop.
My conversations led me to realise that London, led by groups of like-minded individuals, are helping to convert patches of urban spaces into food-growing networks, partly meeting the food needs of the local community. This also challenges the perception that London’s simply a diesel-choked city on its last legs.
