‘Grow Your Own’ movement takes root, says B&Q poll

Following recent meat scandals and food recalls, a new survey by B&Q reveals that a quarter of Brits are now considering rearing their own chickens, and over half the nation want to grow their own fruit and vegetables, to ensure food authenticity.

The DIY retailer’s survey of 2,000 adults reveals that six in 10 Brits now grow their own food, which is up 40% year-on-year (2012 compared with 2013). Of those, 14% are growing more vegetables than last year and 10% are growing more fruit.

Aberystwyth, York and Plymouth are the UK’s biggest grow your own (GYO);

towns, and the Midlands has the highest number of people who would like to rear their own chickens (a total of 63 per cent: 32% in Wolverhampton and 31% in Coventry), closely followed by 42% in Wales.

The poll also highlighted the top reasons for ‘growing your own’: 61% said it tastes better, 53% enjoy knowing where their food comes from, 51% want to save money, 31% want to be self-sufficient and 26% want to show their children where their food comes from.

With this in mind, B&Q is looking to introduce a special one-off class in its ‘You Can Do It’ workshops, teaching prospective chicken keepers ‘How to build your own chicken coop’. Rachel Ranwell, category director for seasonal at B&Q, said: “Raising chickens seems to be a growing trend. It’s good for people to know about their food sources and kids love it.”

B&Q is operates 362 stores, employing more than 30,000 people, nationwide.