'Give Peas a Chance' competition involves raising food plants at your work desk

Sharon Ní Chonchuir reports on ‘Give Peas a Chance’ — a competition that encourages workers to grow food at their desk and in turn get them to grow their own food at home

WE’VE all heard of dining al fresco. But how many of us have heard of dining al desko? I’m not talking about scoffing a sandwich in front of our computers at lunchtime. Instead I’m talking about Give Peas a Chance, a new initiative by Grow It Yourself (GIY) and soup makers Cully and Sully to try to encourage more people to grow their own food.

“Our aim is to get at least 500 companies here and in the UK growing their own food in their workplaces this summer,” says Shona Dubois, the Programme Coordinator for Give Peas a Chance. “All you have to do is get in touch with us and we’ll send you a grow pack that includes tubs, compost and seeds and then it’s up to you to find room on your desk or on a window sill to grow the seeds. Before you know it, you’ll be harvesting the peas and eating them for your lunch. You’ll be amazed by how easy it is.”

The idea for Give Peas a Chance was born when members of GIY first got to know the team at Cully and Sully. “We share a lot of common ground with them in that we are interested in good food and in connecting people with good food,” says Shona. “However, their main customer base is young professional people and that’s a demographic that is difficult for us to talk to. We decided to work with them to try to bring these young professionals into the world of growing their own food.”

They started last year and succeeded in enlisting 500 companies to the challenge. Each company had its own team of growers who planted the seeds, tended to them and logged their adventures online as they went along.

Ben Martin, a chiropractor at Optimal Chiropractors in Cork, was a member of last year’s winning team. He was attracted to the competition for several reasons.

“At Optimal Chiropractors, we often talk to our patients about the need for a healthy lifestyle and the idea of growing your own food ties in with that,” he says. “We had the plants growing on our desks in the office and patients would ask about them. It was a great way of starting a conversation.”

Ben and his wife grow their own food at home so another of his motivations was the desire to spread the ‘grow your own’ message to his staff. Finally, there was also the opportunity to win a garden for a local charity.

“The winners of this competition are presented with vouchers worth €1,500 for Ballymaloe House and Cookery School,” says Shona Dubois.

Founder of GIY Michael Kelly, Rena O’Donovan from Cully & Sully, and Shona Dubois, GIY. Picture: Patrick Browne

“They also get to donate a community garden worth €3,000 to the charity of their choice. The reason for the two prizes is to encourage the sense of community that’s at the heart of GIY. We want as many people as possible to experience the positive impact of growing their own food, and the sense of connection that comes from that. We also want the competition to have a legacy and for the winning team to not just go off into the sunset.”

The team at Optimal Chiropractors certainly didn’t do that. They enjoyed the competition itself. “We were always comparing whose peas were tallest and strongest,” says Ben.

But they were also very interested in the idea of donating a garden. “Our chosen charity was the Cork Association for Autism in Mogeely,” says Ben. “We work with autistic children in our office and we felt they could really benefit from having a food garden of their own.”

The offer of a garden came at the perfect time for the charity. “We had been planning to develop a food garden but as we were opening a new day centre for 14- to 28-year olds with autism last year, we simply didn’t have the funds to pay for a garden too,” says Marion Courtney, Fundraising Manager with the Cork Association for Autism. “When Optimal Chiropractors told us that we were their chosen charity, we couldn’t have been more delighted.”

In February, a team from GIY, some people from Cully and Sully and the staff from Optimal Chiropractors came together to clear the ground for the new garden. They built raised beds and covered them in seaweed.

“Basically, they got the garden ready for us to plant,” says Marion. “Then our service users planted the seeds and we’ve just begun to harvest salads, herbs, onions, and potatoes. It’s fantastic to see how quickly it’s all happened.”

The garden has already made a difference to the service users at the centre. “We run a horticulture therapy programme here,” says Marion. “We grow plants from seeds and follow them right through to harvesting and preparing them for our meals. The physical work involved helps the service-users burn off energy and working with nature helps them with their physical, emotional, and mental health.”

Ben and his team at Optimal Chiropractors found the competition to be of lasting benefit to them too. “It wasn’t just a way for us to have a laugh together,” he says. “It was great for us to be able to give something as special as a garden to a local charity and the experience also inspired us to continue growing our own food. Four out of five of us in the office are now growing some of our own vegetables.”

Ben Martin (centre), Optimal Chiropractic, were inaugural winners of the ‘Grow at Work’ competition with Michael Kelly founder of GIY and Rena O’Donovan of Cully & Sully. Picture: Patrick Browne

The competition is already hotting up among this year’s participants. Shane Maher works in the connections and contacts department at Eirgrid in Dundrum and he’s taking part for the second year running.

He hopes to convert some of his co-workers to becoming vegetable growers. “I grow food at home already,” he says. “I come into the office on Monday mornings and people ask me what I’ve done at the weekend. I mention growing vegetables and they always say that it’s too difficult for them to do, that they don’t have the time or the expertise. I’m tired of telling them that they can do it. I hope this competition will give me the opportunity to show them just how simple it can be.”

Two teams in his department took part last year and he hopes even more will participate this year.

“People were really surprised by it last year,” says Shane. “They realised they didn’t need an acre or an allotment. Even in a small urban environment, they saw that they could grow salads, tomatoes and peas. A lot have gone on to grow their own food since. The experience gave them the extra push they needed.”

Mary O’Neill, a presenter on Waterford Local Radio, is another GIY enthusiast taking part in this year’s competition. She and her colleagues at the station have had a close relationship with GIY for years.

“GIY started here in Waterford and they’ve partnered with us before,” she says. “They helped us to build four raised beds on the grounds of the radio station, where we grow our own food, which is served in the canteen at lunchtime.” The staff look after the raised beds themselves and that experience has made them keen to enter the Give Peas a Chance competition.

“We’re excited to be involved and we think it’ll be a lot of fun,” says Mary. “We’re hoping for some stiff competition between ourselves here at the radio station and with teams nationwide.”

Shona Dubois and the team at GIY are delighted with the response they’ve had from the likes of Waterford Local Radio and Eirgrid already. But there are still opportunities for others to get involved too.

“Registration is open and you can sign up for your free growing pack at www.cullyandsully.com/ourgarden,” says Shona. “The pack will include everything you need to start growing your peas. The winner of the competition will be announced in September.”