Practical Hope: Incredible Edible Leeds

This resource is part of a collection called Practical Hope: Inspiration for Community Action.

Building kind, confident, connected communities through food growing

About Incredible Edible Leeds  

Part of the wider Incredible Edible Movement, Incredible Edible Leeds is a community group working to use food as the catalyst for change and to bring the local community together. Incredible Edible Leeds started as a group in Garforth, East Leeds, in 2019. In 2024, there are over twenty groups working across the city on their own Incredible Edible projects. Incredible Edible Leeds offers a support network for groups across Leeds and helps to coordinate projects.  

How is Incredible Edible Leeds making a difference?   

Incredible Edible Leeds uses food growing as a catalyst for change within the local community. One of its main projects is public edible beds, which can be found across the city. The edible beds serve a multitude of purposes, including educating people on where their food comes from and providing a free and sustainable source of healthy food.

The emphasis on learning is also demonstrated in the Edible Schools work, where the group works with local schools to provide the next generation with the know-how and skills to get growing.

In 2021, Incredible Edible Leeds became the custodian of the Garforth Community Wildlife area, where it is working to bring the area back into use for the community and tackle the issue of biodiversity loss. At the core of Incredible Edible’s work is re-establishing people’s connection with nature and the food they eat to create healthier, happier, and more connected communities.   

Incredible Edible Leeds came about due to the community’s pride in the city”

Dan Robinson, Volunteer & Director, Incredible Edible Leeds 

How did they do it?   

Incredible Edible Leeds originated from an idea in Garforth to use local grass verges to grow food. In 2019, Dan Robinson hosted a community meeting attended by around 30 people, who then set up a committee to identify the next steps.   

The committee launched Incredible Edible Leeds during the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic. They used online platforms to do community building but found that local people were becoming reconnected to their local areas during lockdown as they went on their walks. They were often interested in Incredible Edible’s raised beds and wanted to know how they could do something similar in their area. By 2021, several other Incredible Edible Groups were established in Leeds.   

In 2022, Incredible Edible Leeds became established as a community interest company (CIC). A CIC format was chosen as becoming a charity was too long a process. The organisation has four volunteer directors, one staff member, and one lead volunteer per Incredible Edible group in Leeds. The individual Incredible Edible Groups stay in regular contact with Incredible Edible Leeds through a WhatsApp network, and the CIC provide leadership training opportunities for the lead volunteers. All the work done by Incredible Edible Leeds is carried out by volunteers and through grant funding. 

Interest in Incredible Edible Leeds happened organically. People came across our work while going on walks during lockdown and wanted to get involved in their area.

Dan Robinson, Volunteer & Director, Incredible Edible Leeds 

Three things to unlock Incredible Edible Leeds’ potential.  

  1. Incredible Edible Leeds would like to establish a commission service to enable it to work with partners in the private and public sectors. This includes working with the NHS and GP practices to play a role in social prescribing.   
  1. Access to more resources. Incredible Edible Leeds’s work is resource-intensive, taking up roughly three days a week of a volunteer Director’s time. Access to secure funding would allow it to have paid staff and work on more projects.   
  2. Easier access to land. Public land is often tied up behind red tape and complex lease agreements. Incredible Edible’s Right to Grow campaign calls for local authorities to have a free and accessible map of public land that can be used for community growing and wildlife projects.   

Incredible Edible Leeds’ advice for new community projects?

  • Just do it!  
  • Be bold, brave, and ambitious.   
  • Don’t wait for permission.   

Relevant links