Growing to Love is a tomato growing project that supports children’s learning about food, its origins and growth, while encouraging vegetable acceptance. This year’s campaign has been supported by a range of experts including TV and radio presenter Sam Nixon and former Blue Peter gardener Chris Collins.
The project will reach 30,000 KS1 and KS2 children from 479 primary schools across the UK. The campaign encourages children to take responsibility for their own tomato plants, fostering a sense of ownership and enjoyment throughout the process.
Pupils plant the tomato seeds at school before the summer holidays, then bring their seedlings home to care for them over the holiday. The tomatoes will be ready to harvest and eat when they return to school after the summer break in September or October.
Each participating school receives a Growing to Love pack containing all the necessary growing materials including windowsill propagation kits, seeds, organic vegetable feed, compost and plant labels.
Dan Parker, chief executive, Veg Power, said, “We have seen first-hand from the schools that have participated in this growing project, how much fun and enthusiasm it creates.
“We need to reach children in more creative and engaging ways to help support life-long good eating habits and improved dietary health. Growing to Love is just one of our campaigns that is having an impact on children’s vegetable acceptance and we can’t wait to hear from participating schools about this year’s campaign.”
The 2024 campaign reached 21,000 children from 375 primary schools across the UK. Evaluation of the project found that 98% of teachers surveyed wanted to repeat the Growing to Love campaign this year.