PRESS RELEASE: Date of issue: Thursday 25th June, 2025  

130 food industry volunteers build a community garden and social hub in four days at the Eyres Monsell Community Centre, Leicester  

Through the power of teamwork and a will to do good, a patch of underused land at a community centre in south Leicester has been transformed into a stunning, sustainable garden and social hub.  

Over four days this June, as part of the food company’s commitment to supporting its local communities, Samworth Brothers’ employees built the fully accessible growing garden at Leicester’s Eyres Monsell Community Centre, which hosts a variety of social activities and events for people of all ages.  

The company’s ‘Big Build’ initiative hasn’t just transformed the land but has also instigated positive change in the community: the centre plays a vital role in improving health and wellbeing in the area which faces significant socio-economic challenges and has among the highest rate of unemployment and poverty in the city.  

The garden, which features sheltered seating areas, a potting shed and potting tables, raised planters, picnic benches, a barbecue and compost bins, will support the centre’s food education and cooking projects, with local people now able to learn about growing fruit and vegetables and healthy eating.   

The initiative gave 130 colleagues from across the country the opportunity to work together, learn new skills and benefit from experiencing social impact first-hand. 

“The garden is more than just a space – it’s a symbol of what can happen when people come together with a purpose,” said Karen Holdsworth, Group Community Engagement Lead at Samworth Brothers. “It was a great team building experience. Everyone enjoyed pulling together to meet the tight project deadline.   

“Our colleagues had the opportunity to learn new skills and experience a different type of team effort, which helps to build overall confidence for all situations. However, the most satisfying aspect of the project was helping the local community, the result being a beautiful garden that can be used and enjoyed for many years to come.”  

The garden will also provide a therapeutic and social space, particularly benefiting those without gardens of their own and enhancing existing sessions for families, the local primary school and Willow Bank School/Children’s Hospital School Leicester. 

Julie Richards, Project Officer for The Conservation Volunteers charity, which will manage the garden, said: “We can now grow more, give more away, and cook more for the community. This project has saved us years of work.”  

Pete Simmons, Project Manager for Splash Projects, which facilitated the project and guided participants, added: “This was a challenging build, we gave them a lot to do, and some of the participants had never used tools before. Their work ethic was exemplary, they all grafted from the moment the safety briefing ended until it was time to down tools at the end of the day.” 

Employees took part from the company’s various locations around the country, including its Leicestershire sites (Beaumont Leys, Braunstone Frith, Belgrave), its HQ in Melton Mowbray, and further afield in Cornwall.   

After the volunteers downed tools, the garden was officially opened on Monday afternoon with a ribbon-cutting celebration led by Simon Wookey, CEO of Samworth Brothers and Tracey Inchley, Community Centre Service Delivery Manager, and was attended by members of the community.  

ENDS  

Note to editors: 

About Samworth Brothers   

A family business founded in Leicestershire in 1896, Samworth Brothers is a food manufacturer of savoury food products employing more than 11,000 people across 14 bakeries, serving major supermarkets, convenience stores, hospitality venues, workplaces and travel outlets.

The company is committed to creating a sustainable future for the communities it operates, bringing its purpose ‘We do GOOD things with GREAT food’ to life by creating jobs and opportunities and supporting local programmes to help communities thrive.   

Its mission is to help those who are most at need, tackling problems relating to food scarcity, health and nutrition, skills development and career opportunities, often partnering with other organisations, for example Leicester City Council and Leicestershire Cares. 

The company’s Community Champions lead on creating action plans for doing good in the local community, which all Samworth Brothers’ colleagues can take part in, giving back through time, energy and funding for local causes. In 2024 this amounted to 3,165 volunteering hours and £120,000 in donations to various charities. 

Last year, the company donated or distributed over 700,000 meals. Its Community Opportunity Fund awarded £155,000 for schemes promoting active lifestyles and nutrition awareness among young people. And its Charity Challenge event raised over £406,000 for more than 75 different charities. 

About the Eyres Monsell Community Centre 

The Eyres Monsell Community Centre is owned by Leicester City Council and the outside space is managed by the Leicestershire group of national charity, The Conservation Volunteers, which runs a free health and wellbeing programme there called The Green Gym.   

Samworth Brothers’ garden will help the charity expand its vital work encouraging social connection and a connection with nature and food provenance. 

About Splash Projects  

The project was delivered by global sustainable development company, Splash Projects. A team of project facilitators guided the volunteers to build the garden themselves, promoting team development skills and a sense of ownership.  

Splash Projects delivers experiential learning and development programmes for businesses and business schools through community, social impact projects, worldwide.   

The company has worked in 38 countries with around 70,000 participants from some of the world’s leading companies and business schools, including Deloitte, Santander Consumer Finance, BAE Systems, QRT, Bosch, INSEAD: The Business School for the World, and the London Business School.  

Projects involve the build of facilities out of (sustainably sourced) timber for people in need. They include playgrounds for deprived children, physiotherapy obstacle courses for people with disabilities, shaded communal seating areas to promote social cohesion and raised gardens so the therapeutic benefits of gardening are more accessible.