MP praises audacious Hainault gardening project

Ilford North MP Wes Streeting has heaped praise on an innovative social enterprise scheme, after a visit to Forest Farm Peace Garden.

Audacious Veg, run from the allotment in Hazelbrouck Gardens, Hainault, provides young adults, referred by social services, a four month paid work placement.

The scheme sells gourmet baby salad mixes, edible flowers and micro-herbs to restaurants across London, and gives the young adult trainees the experience of working at a cutting edge enterprise.

Mr Streeting said: “It was great to visit Audacious Veg in Hainault to see the team at work.

“It’s brilliant to see a local social enterprise like this helping to create opportunities for young people to gain practical skills and overcome the barriers to employment that they’ve faced as a result of the challenges that life has thrown at them.”

Audacious Veg founder Natalie Szarek said they were “happy” to have the support of the Labour MP.

She added: “We think that Audacious Veg has the potential to put Redbridge on the map as a pioneering borough in terms of local food production and sustainability.”

If you would like to get involved with the project visit audaciousveg.org.