Birmingham charity receives funding boost to help more people grow their own food

A green-fingered charity is celebrating after receiving £10,000, thanks to National Lottery players. The funding will allow Ampersand Projects to continue its ‘Grow Your Road’ project, which empowers local people across Birmingham and the Black Country to live more sustainably and learn to grow their own food.

Since spring 2020, the project has engaged over 5,000 households in Birmingham and Sandwell, giving local people the tools, skills, and confidence to grow their own food at home. Growing kits are provided to participants, with everything they need to get started growing a variety of vegetables.

This latest National Lottery funding enables Ampersand projects to run the project for another year and reach even more people, by working with community venues to host free activities that bring locals together.

The project helps people live healthier lives through increased time outdoors, healthier eating, and engagement with growing and creative activities. 100% of surveyed previous participants said their wellbeing had improved; 70% spent more time outdoors and 60% got to know their neighbours more.*

The team has also run educational pop-up sessions at festivals and events in Birmingham and Sandwell this summer, giving hundreds more families and residents access to the project even if they have no outdoor space.

Schools have been encouraged to get involved for free, by signing up to receive a free Class Grow Kit. Local pupils have started growing in the classroom and will continue at home over the summer holidays so they can learn about nature and sustainability firsthand.

A teacher said: "Grow Your Road gave the opportunity for every child in our school to grow. This greatly benefitted the wellbeing of children, particularly those disadvantaged economically, and with special education needs. We also offered growing kits to families accessing our weekly food bank. These proved very popular, as families could participate in the windowsill, and outdoor gardening, who otherwise wouldn't have had the opportunity to plant."

Katie Andrews, Director of Ampersand Projects said: “We believe that growing your own food shouldn’t cost the earth, and during the cost-of-living crisis access to affordable, fresh, and sustainable food is a real challenge.

“Thanks to National Lottery players, we’ve been able to provide opportunities for hundreds of local families to sow, grow and connect with their community. We thank our incredible network of Street Champions, schools and libraries supporting their neighbours to get growing and sharing.”

Ampersand Projects are one of almost 600 organisations in the West Midlands, doing vital work with communities, to receive a share of almost £32 million in funding from The National Lottery Community Fund, the largest funder of community activity in the UK.**

Nicola Thurbon, Head of Funding for the Midlands at The National Lottery Community Fund, said: “Thanks to National Lottery players and the hard work and dedication of local groups and projects like Ampersand Projects, this funding will make a big difference to people’s lives.  The quality of applications we receive speaks volumes of the care and ingenuity of local people - we’re delighted that our grants are being used to support great projects that strengthen communities and improve lives in our region in many ways.”

The National Lottery Community Fund awards grants to strengthen society and improve lives across the UK. Thanks to National Lottery players, it will distribute at least £4 billion by 2030, supporting activities that create resilient communities that are more inclusive and environmentally sustainable.

National Lottery players raise over £30 million a week for good causes across the UK. Thanks to them, last year The National Lottery Community Fund was able to distribute over half a billion pounds (£615.4 million) of life-changing funding to communities.

To find out more visit www.TNLCommunityFund.org.uk

Date published: 25 July, 2023
Region: England (East Midlands, West Midlands)

Notes to Editors

* Figures from Ampersand Projects

** These figures are for funding awarded from 25 February – 30 June 2023

About The National Lottery Community Fund

We are the largest non-statutory community funder in the UK – community is at the heart of our purpose, vision and name.

We support activities that create resilient communities that are more inclusive and environmentally sustainable and that will strengthen society and improve lives across the UK.

We’re proud to award money raised by National Lottery players to communities across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, and to work closely with government to distribute vital grants and funding from key government programmes and initiatives.

As well as responding to what communities tell us is important to them, our funding is focused on four key missions, supporting communities to:

1. Come together

2. Be environmentally sustainable

3. Help children and young people thrive

4. Enable people to live healthier lives.

Thanks to the support of National Lottery players, we distribute around £500 million a year through 10,000+ grants and plan to invest over £4 billion of funding into communities by 2030. We’re privileged to be able to work with the smallest of local groups right up to UK-wide charities, enabling people and communities to bring their ambitions to life.

National Lottery players raise over £30 million each week for good causes throughout the UK. Since The National Lottery began in 1994, £47 billion has been raised and more than 670,000 individual grants have been made across the UK - the equivalent of around 240 National Lottery grants in every UK postcode district.

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