The Peas Please initiative are currently looking for people who are passionate about veg to get involved with their fantastic work by becoming Veg Advocates. Peas Please is run in partnership with The Food Foundation, Belfast Food Network, Food Cardiff, and Edible Edinburgh partners Nourish Scotland. The initiative aims to get more people eating vegetables by changing the food system. We know that we are not producing, advertising, selling, cooking and eating enough veg and we know this is causing ill health. We also know that there are environmental benefits to eating more veg (and less meat) such as reduced greenhouse gas emissions and climate change mitigation.
Simply telling people to eat more veg doesn’t work. Peas Please is taking a different approach by recognising that people in every part of the food system have a role to play in driving change. Peas Please works with producers, retailers, manufacturers, fast food providers, caterers, government, local authorities, charities and citizens to drive up vegetable consumption. By engaging all these people at the same time it is hoped that the change needed will be achieved. Businesses and organisations from across the food system have become Veg Pledgers and have committed to improving their veg offer, by growing more veg, making it more delicious, offering more in everyday meals, putting more veg in products and giving more prominence to it on menus and in places we shop. Over the last three years Peas Please has increased the number of veg portions sold by Pledgers by millions of portions. However, to achieve the full health benefits billions more portions need to be sold and consumed in the UK.
Peas Please are looking for 100 Veg Advocates nationwide to listen and engage with people’s experience to ensure relevant and meaningful impact. Advocates will use their veg experience to give advice about what’s been done and what more needs to be done to get the nation eating more veg. Advocates will have a unique opportunity to challenge the food system to do better, to support a national cause and develop experience and confidence. Specifically, Advocates across the UK can be involved for up to four years on a number of different activities. The first step is host or attend a meeting in your local community to find out more.
If you love veg, want to share your expertise and commitment, and act as a national advocate for veg, please email peasplease@nourishscotland.org.uk or call 0131 226 1497.