Woman whose allotment was poisoned with salt raises £170k to continue feeding hungry

A mother left “heartbroken” by vandals who destroyed her allotment which had fed hundreds for free has spoken of her delight at raising £170,000 in donations.

Carly Burd, from Harlow, Essex, is the creator of the A Meal On Me With Love initiative, which grows fresh fruit and vegetables and distributes them for free to those worst hit by the cost of living crisis.

But the plot was ruined after around 5kg of salt was poured on to the allotment on 8 April, destroying the vegetables that could have fed 300 people.

The act of vandalism prompted an outpouring of donations to Burd’s online fundraising page and the 43-year-old now plans to use the money to set up a registered charity to continue feeding people.

The donations quickly rose after Match Of The Day host Gary Lineker tweeted on Wednesday “why would you ever do something like that?” alongside a TikTok video of Burd in tears at her allotment, while a £500 donation under his name was made to her GoFundMe.

Burd said: “I’m just absolutely overwhelmed by everybody’s generosity.

“It just feels like a dream, that’s all I can say. It feels like in a minute someone will shake me and wake me up.

“I think, at the moment, if anyone pushes me, I will fall over. It’s just a complete dream today.”

Burd previously spoke of how she prepared the land and allowed children and their families to plant 300 onions and 300 potatoes, but everything was “ruined” after the salt was poured on it.

She said: “Three hundred onions that children had planted – autistic children, children that are having a hard time at school and kids that are out with their granny for the Easter – all of that got ruined.

“All of the potatoes we planted all got ruined. That would have fed 300 families.”

In a video update Burd told viewers she now plans to turn the patch into a “seating area” with a “cook station” where the community can share food and chat.

The green-fingered mum says this will allow her to make a “massive impact” on the community, and open more allotments to feed more.

She added: "I'm going to use the money to make myself into a registered charity, so that everyone can see where their money is going and they can see us moving forward.

"I wanted to be a registered charity before this happened and it gives us the backbone now.

"It will stay as it is – 'a meal on me with love' – and it'll give us the opportunity to get this allotment open, and the next ones and the next ones.

“We can make a massive impact with it.”

Burd’s initiative started in her back garden but moved to the allotment so she can grow more produce, which she boxes along with other essential items before it is distributed to those on benefits and low incomes and pensioners.

She added: “To everyone that’s donated and all the support: thank you so much.

“One message I’d like to share to people is: just be kind.”