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About us

We are A movement, not an organisation.

it started with a handful of people, a patch of public ground, and a simple idea: grow food together and see what happens.

That was Todmorden, 2008. Today Incredible Edible is hundreds of communities across the UK and around the world, each one putting the same idea into practice in their own way.

The movement has no rulebook. Just a shared belief that ordinary people, acting together in their own place, can change things.

2008

Founded in todmorden

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The TED Talk watched by millions

In 2012, our Chair and co-founder of Incredible Edible – Pam Warhurst – took to the TED stage to explain what was happening in Todmorden – and why it mattered.

The talk has been watched millions of times and remains one of the clearest explanations of what the movement is and why it works.

our story

What began as a local experiment has grown into a global network. The full story – from that first café meeting in Todmorden to the movement as it stands today – is told here.

2008–2010

Founding and early momentum

Pam Warhurst, Mary Clear and local residents began planting food in public spaces in Todmorden to show that shared food could build community resilience.

Weekly Sunday gardening sessions expanded from a handful of volunteers to dozens and every local school was supported to create gardens and orchards. An Incredible Edible farm was established in 2010 with a one‑acre plot that began supplying produce to local businesses.

2011–2014

International expansion

The Incredible Edible Network was formed in 2012 to support existing groups and help new ones start, marking the shift from a local experiment to a structured national movement.

Pam’s TED Talk in 2012 amplified the movement internationally and by 2016, more than 600 groups worldwide were active, adapting the Todmorden model to their own communities.

2015–2019

Local impact and policy influence

By 2018, 49 new UK groups launched, reflecting rising interest in community‑led food resilience. The ‘three plates’ – community, learning and business – became the core framework for new groups.

Meanwhile in Todmorden, public spaces became edible landscapes and vegetable tourism emerged, with local businesses benefitting from increased footfall and local produce through the green route map which starts and finishes at the train station.

2020–2022

Resilience and renewed interest

Whilst the world slowed down during the Covid‑19 era, community growing gained renewed relevance as towns sought local food security and outdoor community activities.

Incredible Edible groups continued operating globally, maintaining gardens, school projects and local food initiatives. Many new groups started to pop up during this period, as people spent more time in their local area.

2023–Present

Right to Grow and policy advocacy

Today, there are 120+ UK groups and 700+ worldwide, showing sustained growth and international relevance. The groups have been local advocates for giving their community a right to grow food on unused public land in-line with a long‑standing ‘be brave, be local’ ethos.

The ‘Right to Grow’ campaign was formally launched in 2023 and local authorities are increasingly implementing the policy to make it easier for people to adopt land for food and nature.

The network today

Incredible Edible is a federation of independent groups. There is one recipe but everywhere it is tried, it comes out with a distinctly local flavour.

The central team supports, connects, and campaigns, but the movement belongs to the people running it.

Today there are hundreds of groups active across the UK and internationally – from school gardens to town-centre orchards, hospital grounds to high streets.

Find a group near you

How we’re organised

Incredible Edible is a Community Interest Company.

The central team supports groups getting started and sustaining their work, connects the network, and campaigns for systemic change through the Right to Grow.

For full information on governance, board members, and annual reports, visit our Board and Governance page.

Our board and governance

seeds to solutions

The movement’s own account of what it has learned.

Written by Anne Sikking and Incredible Edible co-founder Pam Warhurst, Seeds to Solutions draws on fifteen years of experience to set out how communities can use food to create lasting local change.

Buy the book

get involved

Whether you want to join a group, start one, or support the movement from a distance, there is a place for you here.

find out how to get involved

contact us

Questions about the organisation, partnerships, or press enquiries, we’d love to hear from you.

Get in touch