Hello all,
Welcome back to the blog! It’s been a while…
The pandemic has certainly made things difficult for everyone, and it has of course made things for us challenging at times. Here at Nutrigreens we’ve had to adapt to this new way of life. Let’s catch up!
Where were we pre-pandemic?
Prior to COVID-19 we managed to achieve a lot. Our founders took a trip to Uganda, making connections and meeting with partners. We partnered with Le Chateau, a restaurant in Uganda, to sell the microgreens that are grown, and reinvest the profits back into the schools. This allows students to continue their growing and consumption of microgreens and allows for the ability to invest in the education about nutrition.
We managed to set up the vertical farming system in our partner school, Outspan, in Kampala, Uganda. We had children try microgreens in their dinners, which was a great success and we also got our grant of around £9,000 secured, which is to be used internationally.
So, where are we now?
Inevitably, the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent lockdowns meant that operations internationally had to be put on hold due to social distancing and isolations. However, we saw this as an opportunity to develop as an organisation and so tried to do as much as we could, given the circumstances.
During lockdowns, our plant scientists did extensive research into the best conditions and seeds to produce microgreens. They also identified the most lacking nutrients from diets to then find the correct seed, in order to tackle this. We found that in Uganda the most common deficiencies are in iron, iodine and vitamin A.
We also felt as though it was a good time to develop our local side, and brainstormed our options locally. After the restrictions were lifted in the UK, Nutrigreens committed itself to market research here in Nottingham to sell microgreens to restaurants. However, this didn’t work out to be a viable option. So, we began thinking about other options to continue locally. With this, we developed an education plan for local schools, aiming to teach schoolchildren how to grow their own microgreens and the importance of good nutrition.
Although we are still in the early stages, we are hoping to implement this in the near future.
The idea of an education plan came from our work in Uganda. We have created an educational programme and have implemented it through Global Refugee Initiative in their Environmental Kids Club. In this, it provides education about the importance of proper nutrition and protecting the environment, helping to adhere to our UN Sustainability Goals.
We have also created a new partnership with Tree Adoption Uganda and have established a good relationship with our project manager, both having been a great help to our project.
Things are starting to propel now and everyone here at Nutrigreens is really excited to see it all happening. Blogs will be posted here every Monday, updating you on everything Nutrigreens, so follow along!
Stay green!
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