A woman who has been growing food to help feed the hungry was left devastated after someone destroyed her allotment and salted the earth in order to prevent things from growing there in the future.
Carly Burd claims to have fed more than 1,600 people since she started her charitable work called ‘A Meal on Me With love’ but turned up to her allotment in the UK town of Harlow to find that loads of salt had been chucked onto the soil, which damages and dehydrates the plants, as well as making it difficult to grow anything else there.
The 43-year-old was understandably devastated, as she has been using the produce from that garden to feed hungry folks due to the cost-of-living crisis.
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In a video for her TikTok followers, she spoke about how the incident left her ‘heartbroken’.
However, everyone online who was moved by her plight has rallied around and started donating to her cause.
On the fundraising page, she wrote about how she transformed her garden ‘into an allotment to provide those on benefits, pensioners on state pension & those on a low income FREE organic fruit and vegetables plus essentials.’
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However, in the video she explained how this attack has ruined her plans.
"Everything I've planted won't grow, and I can't replant on it because it won't grow,” she said.
In the end, there should be a happy ending here, as the fundraiser – which set out to raise £4,000 – has now surpassed £200,000.
Support has been flooding in through the comments, too.
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One person said: "I was horrified to read today about what happened to your garden, but it's wonderful to see the level of support you are receiving here."
Another wrote: "Can't believe someone would do this.”
On her TikTok, Burd explained how the onions that had been planted on the allotment ‘would have fed 300 families’.
"The amount of work — I can't even begin to tell you — that's gone into that allotment, it's unbelievable,” she added.
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Still, she refuses to be too downhearted about it, as she’ll now have all the money she needs to get things back up and running.
Even TV presenter Gary Lineker chimed in with a £500 donation after learning of her plight.
Podcaster and TV star Stephen Bartlett also added £2,000 out of his own pocket.
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Speaking after the fundraiser took off, Burd told Sky News: "I'm just absolutely overwhelmed by everybody's generosity.
"It just feels like a dream, that's all I can say.
“It feels like in a minute someone will shake me and wake me up.
"I think, at the moment, if anyone pushes me, I will fall over.
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“It's just a complete dream today."
Hopefully some good will eventually come from this cruel – and really strange – incident in the end.
Topics: TikTok, Weird, Food and Drink, Money, UK News
Tom Wood