Want to get growing in Glastonbury? Free advice available at event in Shepton Mallet.

Growing your own food is becoming an increasing popular pastime yet here in Glastonbury there can be a frustratingly long wait to get an allotment for those of us unlucky enough to not have their own garden.  

I found this out myself when waiting for a council allotment adjacent to Becks Electrical on the Glastonbury Relief Road several years ago, and although the wait (around 18 months) was nowhere near as long as it is in some parts of the country it can be frustrating for those who wish to get growing.

Now local charity Somerset Community Foods is trying to bring more land into production for community based growing projects and aims to re-connect people with the social, health and environmental effects of growing, buying, preparing and eating local food has arranged a public meeting at the Mendip District Council Chamber in Shepton Mallet for people who are looking for land in Mendip where demand for land exceeds supply to get help in growing.

The meeting takes place on Tuesday 31st January between 7pm and 9pm and both individuals on allotment waiting lists and those who are interested in starting community projects, as well as people who may have land to lease for growing projects are invited to the evening which will explore the various options and avenues for those looking for land.

Speaking at the event will be Linda Hull from the Somerset Land & Food Project and the recently launched Incredible Edible Somerset.  She will introduce all of the support available in Somerset to help growing projects get off the ground.  Joining Linda will be Allan Cavill, South West Director of the National Society of Allotments and Leisure Gardens (NSALG), who has nurtured the establishment of more than 50 new sites across the region, many of them in Somerset.  Allan will outline successful routes to finding land and how to develop self-managed modern sites at little or no cost to the taxpayer, which at the same time bring huge community benefits.

Linda Hull, Project Manager of the Somerset Land & Food Project. Said "The evening will be a chance to learn, be inspired and network with others seeking to make land available for cultivation across the district. Please do join us to hear about the support on offer to get your new project started."

Alongside the speakers parish clerks and councillors with responsibilities for allotments, allotment associations, community groups and landowners will also be in attendance and it is hoped that some new growing spaces will be started as a result of the event.

Although it is free to attend people need to pre-book online at www.somersetcommunityfood.org.uk to reserve a place.

For more information contact Linda Hull on 01749 678770 or email linda.hull@somersetcommunityfood.org.uk