London food gardens potential to grow over £2 million of food
A new report published by Capital Growth has estimated the financial value of urban food growing in their London network, using data collected from hundreds of gardens on the innovative online tool - the Harvest-ometer.
The report findings show that during the first two years of it's use, over 40 tonnes of produce was grown and recorded by 190 groups and individuals using the Harvest-ometer, valued at over £288,000.
Using factored average yields, the data was used to estimate the potential productivity of the entire Capital Growth network, which could be more than 380 tonnes, worth over £2 million.
The data is also used to show popular produce grown, with salads, squash, courgettes and potatoes as the most popular crops grown in London.
The Harvest-ometer was created in 2013 for Capital Growth members to more accurately measure and record their value to the urban food system - allowing growers to track everything they harvest by weight, financial value and meal contributions (i.e. one portion of fruit/veg).
Reaping Rewards II marks the halfway point of the original Growing a Million Meals campaign started in 2013, as over half a million meals were recorded on the Harvest-ometer by the end of 2014 growing season.
To find out about getting access to the Harvest-ometer in your area contact Sustain.
Download and read the full Reaping Rewards II report.
11/05/2016
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Capital Growth is a project of Sustain: the alliance for better food and farming.
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