Vegetables are planted everywhere in the Yorkshire town of Todmorden, and they're free to all. Photo / supplied
Vegetables are planted everywhere in the Yorkshire town of Todmorden, and they're free to all. Photo / supplied
In the Yorkshire village of Todmorden, they say that if you can grow it there you can grow it anywhere. It rains so much in Todmorden the sun is a mythic creature they tell stories to their children about.
But that didn't stop them redesigning their town as a vegetablegarden. They've got broccoli and pumpkins outside the police station, fruit trees at the health centre, the verges are full of herbs and more veges - and it's all free to anyone who wants it.
Todmorden is an old mill town, where a third of the children live in poverty. But they eat well in school: the lunch food – veges, meat and fruit – is all grown locally.
It started in 2008, when local woman Mary Clear replaced the roses in her front garden with herbs and a sign saying, "Help yourself."
Incredible Edible co-founders Mary Clear, right, and Estelle Brown. Photo / supplied
Vegetables in the town centre, Todmorden. Photo / supplied
Then her friend Nick Green dug up a vacant plot in the middle of town. "I didn't ask anyone's permission. I just went there with my spade and my seeds and I planted cabbages and rhubarb."
They called it "propaganda planting": they wanted everyone to see it, ask questions and join in, and they knew it would be easier to ask forgiveness than permission.
The schools got involved and Incredible Edible was soon handing out thousands of seed packs and running classes in gardening, cooking, foraging, bottling and how to kill and pluck your own chickens. On Sundays there's a communal lunch, locally sourced and free to all.
Incredible Edible Todmorden has inspired similar projects worldwide, including some in New Zealand. In France, they call it Les Incroyables Comestibles.
"Things have changed hugely," says Clear. "But the real culture change is about kindness. People doing stuff for each other, for their town, bringing a tiny bit of joy."
Incredible Edible Todmorden: The town that redesigned itself as a garden for sharing. Photo / supplied
