Seed Truck Visits Maggie's Fife

14th January 2013

Maggie's Fife and The Seed Truck sow seeds of exciting new partnership

Maggie's Fife and The Fife Diet's Seed Truck are sowing the seeds of a new relationship which could see Maggie's visitors develop their green fingers and reap health benefits.

The Seed Truck is a joint project between Fife Diet and WWF Scotland, funded by the People's Postcode Trust Dream Fund. It visited the Maggie's Centre in the grounds of Kirkcaldy's Victoria Hospital to discuss plans for growing herbs and micro gardens to be used as part of Maggie's Nutrition Workshops.

Both The Fife Diet and Maggie's are supported by Postcode Lottery players who have to date raised £22.6 Million for good causes.

Centre visitor Marjory Fowler, 52, who was diagnosed with breast cancer last year, loves the idea. She said: “I love growing things but I often find that I can't eat everything I grow. At Maggie's though everything could be shared and this would be great. To plant seeds, watch them grow and then enjoy the fruits of our labour in some way would be a wonderful sharing experience which sits nicely with what Maggie's is all about. Plus I find gardening incredibly therapeutic and to do it together would be fun. Life can be quite serious when you have cancer so I am all for doing anything which can be fun.”

Maggie's Fife Centre Head Elspeth Salter said: “Sharing is such a big part of what happens at Maggie's. We share experiences, life and understanding so to share what we eat and grow would be a very natural extension of what we already do. Maggie's is also all about living, living with cancer and living beyond cancer, and supporting people to do that is an integral part of what happens in the Centres either through relaxation, one-to-one psychological support or through our Nutrition Workshops. Our weekly Nutrition Workshops provide people with help, advice and information on food and diet so they can enjoy a better quality of life. The Seed Truck has a similar ethos to Maggie's so it makes perfect sense to find a way of bringing us both together.”

The Seed Truck takes local eating and food self-sufficiency to communities across the country, going out on the road with heritage varieties of plants and trees, high quality seed stock and kit for demonstrating local eating and cooking.

They run a range of workshops including permaculture, build-a-bed, soil improvement, wild food walks and more, including special activities for pre-school children. The truck will be fuelled by recycled chip-fat oil demonstrating the need for innovation around food waste and transport.

Seed Truck co-ordinator Fergus Walker said: “We are really excited to be to be working with Maggie's and to make the link between what our two organisations do and to promote the link between local, seasonal food and health. There has also been lots of research to show that growing your own food has lots of positives which Maggie's centre visitors could also benefit from, such as exercise without going to the gym, being out in nature, getting fresh air and of course having wonderful fresh produce to use at the end up. All things which seem to tie in perfectly with the support Maggie's give to people with cancer, their friends and families.”