A West Yorkshire town, Todmorden, is attempting to become the first in Britain to become self-sufficient in vegetables.

Todmorden: Britain's first self-sufficient town
article in the Telegraph

What a super idea! - It sounds great fun for the children too.

Extract:

"Every square inch of available ground in Todmorden is being dug up and turned into a vegetable plot.

Red-ribbed chard decorates the kerbside of A646 to Halifax and fruit trees are thriving in dustbins in the backyards of artisans' cottages. Even floral displays, which once helped the town take second place in Britain in Bloom in the small-town class, have given way to edible plants. Commuters passing through its tiny station are urged to bring scissors to crop herbs from planters on the platform.

Mary Clear, Todmorden's community development worker and a founder of the "Incredible Edible Todmorden" project, said: "Why pay the supermarket £1 when you can have it fresh for free?"

Mrs Clear, 53, and local café owner Pam Warhurst, launched the scheme last year.

Mrs Warhurst, 57, said it made sense to forget flowers and grow food. "Given costs and concern about where produce is sourced – and it has all sorts of benefits: it's healthier and reduces food miles. It also encourages a sense of community.""