Carly Burd volunteers to feed low-income families in Harlow, Essex.
She was “heartbroken” to discover salt in the soil soon after 300 onions had been planted by poor local youngsters.
She said she was “so grateful and literally lost for words” as donations poured in.
Donations to her fundraising page skyrocketed from around £2,500 to £190,000 in just 24 hours after she released a sad video depicting the damage at the allotment.
Ms Burd began the fundraiser in September of last year with the goal of gathering £4,000 to aid with equipment for her allotment project.
Essex Police said that investigators would pay Ms Burd a visit at the allotment to give assistance and “identify any criminal acts.
Ms Burd was “heartbroken” to see salt on the soil of her allotment.
Since September, the mother-of-three has provided food kits to over 1,600 individuals using a combination of foods grown in her garden, allotment, and contributions.
“Thank you so much everyone,” she said, adding, “we’ve worked so hard and it was such a kick to have [the damage] done and then for everyone to turn it around and do so much is absolutely unbelievable.”
Among those who expressed their support was football analyst Gary Lineker, who tweeted, “Why would you ever do something like that?
The name of the former England footballer was afterwards mentioned among the top contributors on her fundraising page.
Carly Burd shared an emotional video about the incident on TikTok, which was seen over 900,000 times in a single day.
Ms Burd stated that she had “never been so hurt in my life” when the incident occurred.
“It was devastating, I couldn’t think of anyone who would be so nasty… it was mindless,” she added.
Gary Lineker, host of Match of the Day, has donated to the A Meal On Me With Love campaign. “Then when everybody started stepping up and supporting us, it was like we were in a whirlwind… we are so, so, so grateful,” he says.
“I’m literally at a loss for words; I’ve never been so taken aback.”
Steven Bartlett, an entrepreneur, donated £2,000 because he was “so moved by her story.”
Ms Burd expressed her gratitude after learning that the Dragons’ Den star would “love to help further.”
We’re lost right now, we’re just normal people from Harlow, so to be in this position is a bit perplexing, so having that extra help means so much to us,” she explained.
What effect does salt have on soil and plants?
Common salt, sodium chloride, does not usually permanently ruin soil and will be washed out or leached by rain, though this may take some time in dry periods,” said Guy Barter, head horticulture of the Royal Horticultural Society.
“Irrigation can be used to speed up the process, but a lot of water is needed.” Excess salt produces osmotic stress in the plant roots, reducing water intake and resulting in wilted and stunted plants. There is, however, direct toxicity.”
He added, after studying photographs of the damage, “In this case, it appears the salt was present in heaps, so hopefully they were able to scrape some of it off before the rain had a chance to wash it in.”
Ms Burd stated that the donated monies would be used to purchase equipment to assist in getting the allotments “sorted.”
“I can buy a rotavator and do it myself without relying on others… I can actually get started on it myself, which is a huge assistance.
I can get all of the allotments in order, and we can get this up and running – it will be so beneficial to our community, and we desperately need it.
Ms Burd states on her fundraising page that she had multiple sclerosis and lupus, and that “being on disability” meant she knew the hardship of dealing with rising living costs.
“So I converted my garden into an allotment to provide free organic fruit and vegetables and essentials to those on benefits, pensioners on state pension, and those on a low income.”
Ms Burd stated that she was now working fast to establish her effort as a charity.
Before taking on more land, Ms Burd converted her yard into an allotment. “[We want to] make the biggest impact [and] see how we can use this money to literally change our home town,” she said, “get the community working together, get more allotments open, and get food to the most vulnerable.
“I’m not going to squander it.” It’s more than a dream realised; it means we can help people,” she explained.
At this time, we do not believe we have received a report relating to this incident,” stated an Essex Police spokesman, “but we are aware of a video circulating online.
“We are currently putting plans in place to visit the allotment in order to support the woman and to identify any criminal acts.”
Harlow Council stated that it was “shocked to learn about the vandalism that has occurred.”
The local spirit shown and response to the news, as well as the reaction of the wider public, has been amazing,” it continued, “and that is why this project will not be defeated.
We will continue to work with Carly on this venture to assist residents and families with the cost of living.
