A group of children who spent a week living and learning at Wick Court swapped wellies for chef whites this week as they helped prepare canapés alongside The Savoy’s kitchen team for a special 50th anniversary celebration.
Twelve children from Friars Primary Foundation School in Southwark visited Wick Court in June, where they spent a week caring for hens, collecting eggs, planting vegetables and experiencing life on a working farm. This week, they brought those farm-to-fork experiences to life in the heart of London, helping prepare food for guests gathered to celebrate five decades of Farms for City Children.
Held in The Savoy’s Abraham Lincoln Room, the event brought together supporters, partners, trustees, teachers and friends of the charity to reflect on 50 years of connecting over 108,000 children and young people to food, farming and nature. The children were at the heart of the evening and the stars of the show! Not only were they super chefs, they stepped onto the stage to share stories from their visit as well as helping us showcase activities that brought a taste of the farm (literally!) to our guests. These included exploring soil from Nethercott House with Professor Karl Ritz, sampling teas made from ingredients grown at Wick Court and experiencing a virtual reality tour of our Lower Treginnis farm.
Our ambassador, JB Gill, spoke during the evening about the unique power of immersive farm experiences, reflecting on how learning through doing can open up new possibilities for children and young people.
The power of partnership
In their speeches, Debra Patterson, Director of Sustainability at The Savoy, and Richard Couzens, Managing Director and Head of Global Markets, EMEA at BMO, spoke about the importance of purposeful partnerships in creating opportunities like these for children and young people. Both reflected on the value of connecting children with food, farming and nature, and the role that collaboration can play in making these experiences possible.
We’re incredibly grateful for the support of The Savoy and BMO which helped us to create a truly memorable farm-to-fork experience for the children, building on everything they had discovered during their week on the farm and giving them the opportunity to showcase their learning in one of London’s most iconic venues.
We’re sure both the children, and our valued guests and supporters, will remember the event for many years to come!
As we celebrate our 50th anniversary year, moments like these remind us what is possible when organisations come together around a shared commitment to ensuring more children and young people can experience food, farming and nature first-hand.
With huge thanks to The Savoy, BMO and Nyetimber for supporting this special 50th anniversary event.
If you’d like to explore how your organisation can work with us to create experiences of a lifetime, both on the farm and beyond, contact our fundraising team or find out more about the benefits of corporate partnerships.
