The Great Tomato Take Away
At the end of the school year, we send every child home with a tomato plant to care for over the summer. So far we have furnished over 2000 children and their families with plants.
During the first lockdown, Allotment Education grew plants and delivered them to children in their homes. The feedback and success was astounding - parents, carers and children loved it.
These are just some of the comments we received:
"My child was very excited to be growing his own tomato plant. He watered and fed it religiously and moved it to sunnier spots in the garden. He took excellent care of his plant. He was so delighted when it produced its first tomato"
"Thank you for letting us have an opportunity to grow our own tomato plants. I would really like another opportunity to grow some more in the upcoming year. Thank you so much for the videos you posted on DoJo and the tomato plant I received."
Comments such as these in addition to hundreds more received in the school corridors, on playgrounds, in the carparks and through school apps informed our mission for subsequent years. From year 1 where 700 plants were distributed, the project has steadily grown to reach over 2000 households.
Last year we saw the great Tomato Takeaway expand beyond school with some of our Year 10 pupils delivering plants to local resident homes and distributing them around the local shops. Pupils also donated plants to a local food bank and grew plants for other neighboring schools.
To ensure plants meet their potential, children are offered support through their school app during summer to help maintain excitement and drive. We find this is a powerful means of reaching and supporting parents with “Munching Monday” which feeds into “Tomato Tuesday”.