Veg Power’s ‘Growing to Love’ campaign is set to return next year after proving a hit across 375 UK primary schools
Veg Power has announced that its ‘Growing to Love’ campaign, which supports children’s learning about food, is set to return in 2025.
The not-for-profit group with a mission to boost UK vegetable consumption said its 2024 Growing to Love initiative reached 21,000 children from 375 primary schools across the UK.
The project, which aims to teach children about the origins of food while encouraging them to eat veg, is set to return after positive feedback from some 50 teachers involved in the campaign.
Teachers told Veg Power that pupils found the experience “fun”, with a 4.9 out of 5 enjoyment rating.
And 98 per cent of teachers surveyed would like to repeat Growing to Love in 2025.
Teachers also commented about the effectiveness of the resources provided, and that the project met its learning objectives.
#GrowingtoLove was designed to give children responsibility and ownership for nurturing their own tomato plants while having fun along the way.
Each participating school received a ‘Growing to Love’ pack containing all the necessary growing materials, including windowsill propagation kits, seeds, organic vegetable feed, compost and plant labels.
The packs were developed in collaboration with the growing resource expertise of Westland, the campaign’s fulfilment partner, and a team of experts including nutritionists, behavioural psychologists and educators who support Veg Power.
Supporting materials including curriculum-compliant teaching resources and a website https://simplyveg.org.uk/growing-to-love/ were also available. The campaign was also supported by a range of experts including TV chef, Sam Nixon and former Blue Peter Gardener, Chris Collins.
Commenting on the Growing to Love campaign, Dan Parker, chief executive, Veg Power, said, “We have been thrilled with the response to our #GrowingtoLove campaign. It really highlights how much fun the children are having which supports their learning and interest in this area. We hope that their involvement will lead to a life-long enjoyment and acceptance of vegetables.”
The campaign was sponsored by Hazera Seeds UK, with additional donations and support from Edible Edinburgh, Edinburgh City Council, Edinburgh Community Food, Unwins, Westland, EVG, Hazera, Rijk Zwann, Waitrose, Sakata, ISS and Abbey View Produce.
Veg Power is currently planning for Growing to Love to be even bigger in 2025 and welcomes those interested in growing tomatoes or encouraging children to love growing to get in touch.
