About Us
Food Grower Academy has been setup to help inspire more food growers to the world and to the UK.
Whilst other parts of the world has seen booms in market gardening and small scale farming, the UK is still behind in seeing the huge benefits it has on both food systems and communities. It is our hope that this project will inspire those interested in food growing to take it on to a career… or for those that aren’t growing to take it on to feed their family or local community.
The podcast, academy, and later associated projects aim to give those people not only the inspiration but the knowledge and tools they need to make this a reality.
Check out our full vision, mission and values below:
Our People
Behind the ideas, project, and building it right now are Chris (Fanfield Farm) and Jack (Jacks Patch). We are looking for a new team member to help us take the academy forward too.
Chris Huskins
Chris worked much of his career as a radio presenter, moving in to running his own businesses in podcasting and marketing. However he had always wanted to work outside and grow vegetables since his visits to his Great Aunts Farm at a young age.
When he met his wife Emily who shared the same dreams they proceeded to grow veg in every house they lived in. In 2018 they decided to make a plan to make this dream a reality but wanted to test it was right for them first. They turned up their entire front and back gardens into veg patches (the landlord was not happy), got two allotments, and rented a front garden. Chris and Emily went to work testing the theory and practices of growing and selling their produce at local farmers markets… they fell in love with it all!
In 2019 and to cut a long story short, they turned a 3.7 acre field into an offgrid farm where they began to build their home and a farm. In 2.5 years the farm grew and delivered 4,500 veg boxes to homes around East Sussex.
Chris is now working on a new project, consulting on growing projects across the South of England, and helping others to grow their own food.
Find out more about Chris here:
Podcast Interview with Chris:
Jack Hodgson
Jack discovered and fell in love with growing food whilst volunteering in Australia. He was lucky enough to land on a permaculture farm when out there, and found a whole new way of doing things.
Following on from that and after a number of courses in permaculture and no-dig growing Jack started growing great food on allotments before developing his 1/4 acre marketing garden in Essex.
Jack learnt to grow amazing veg, incredible mushrooms and microgreens from a converted shipping container and sells this produce to awesome local chefs and at local markets.
Jack loves sharing his knowledge on social media and is always on hand to give tips and tricks via his fantastic instagram account.
He is now consulting on and building food growing projects in and around London.
Find out more about Jack here:
Jacks Patch Instagram – Jacks Patch Website – Jacks Patch Facebook
Podcast Interview with Jack:
FREE E-BOOK - From Seed To Harvest: A Comprehensive Guide To Growing Your Own Vegetables
Download this free e-book that will take you through a look at planting your first seeds through to harvesting your first vegetables and everything in between.