Accessibility - GRO-FUN believes that everyone has the right to fresh, naturally grown food and we are motivated to help improve access to it. Organic food can be expensive to buy and therefore access to it is often limited to those with a higher disposable income.  In urban areas, there is little land being used for local food production and many people do not have local outlets within realistic distances from their homes. Yet, to grow your own organic food is cheap & easy & something anyone with a garden can do. GRO-FUN empowers people to grow their own and offers advice & support & the teaching & sharing of new skills; we show people how to utilise whatever space is available to them (gardens, patios, balconies) to grow food, and even have a community allotment for those without gardens themselves. Our work with schools engages with the gardeners of the future, and attempts to embed in children a sense of enjoyment in growing food as well as qualities like patience, responsibility & stewardship. We believe that the enthusiasm many of the children for growing food can in turn influence the adults in their lives. Children are a ‘force for change’ and gardening activities are an excellent way to deepen the bonds of relationships.
 
Economic climate - we are in an era where costs of food are increasing, both to the purse and the environment. In October 2008, Johnny Stern, director of mySupermarket.co.uk, said: "Shoppers are now paying 14.3% more for their staple basket items than last October, a large increase”. This is due partly to the rises in global oil prices and is part of a trend that is set to continue beyond the current recession, as global demand for oil rises and the global supply of oil declines (Peak Oil). Growing food locally offers a positive and realistic remedy to some of these sobering concerns. It offers an opportunity to communities to gain higher levels of resilience in the face of rising food prices and predicted food shortages and to start the inevitable process of being more sustainable and more connected.

Climate change – it is widely accepted by the scientific community that our reliance on oil needs to be significantly reduced in order to avoid a 2 degree temperature rise and consequent run-away climate change. Every stage of getting food to our tables is heavily reliant on oil. Current farming, processing and globalised delivery systems involve vast energy use and oil - in production (herbicides, pesticides, machinery), packaging and distribution (food miles) - & is responsible for 18% of the UK’s carbon emissions. The re-localisation of food growing and the shortening of supply chains will contribute to the solution. GRO-FUN also promotes food production on organic and permaculture principles. Organic methods of farming use 40% less energy than conventional methods. Permaculture is a practical design method for minimising input whilst maximising the harvest. More info can be found here www.permaculture.org.uk
 
Health – gardens create restorative environments (Thrive) and there is well documented evidence to show that gardening activities promote increased health, both physical and psychological and in cases of obesity, rehabilitation, addiction recovery, diabetes, stress, depression. General well being & improved self esteem & sense of place are also nurtured through gardening. There is evidence to suggest that those who have greater social contact feel healthier & that gardens create restorative environments (Thrive). Fresh, organic food collected locally can make headway in aiding health & reducing health costs. In the UK diet-related sickness costs the tax payer some £10bn every year and malnutrition is estimated to cost public services £7.3bn a year. 

Lack of time &/or skills - many of us lead very busy lives and are ‘cash rich; time poor’ with little time to transform our gardens into productive spaces. GRO-FUN encourages community-level growing, where neighbours work collaboratively to grow produce and share the collective harvest. The initial task of creating vegetable beds can be very daunting to one individual. Work can be labour-intensive and involve the purchasing of heavy materials. For many, the offer of a team of helpers is essential for projects to get off the ground and a job done by many hands is a job done much faster.  We also facilitate the sharing of skills, tools & resources. The project has previously attracted both gardening novices and professional growers with decades of experience behind them. Members learn off each other and gather new skills by the practical application of their new knowledge in a supportive and non-judgemental environment. Through Learning by Growing GRO-FUN aspires to teach youngsters practical gardening skills in a fun way which compliments their classroom learning.