- Carly Burd, who grows fruit and plants for the needy, said she found her garden vandalized with salt.
- After Burd shared her grief with TikTok, users began pouring in donations, advice, and support.
- For now, Board said it plans to turn the venue into a community center.
A TikToker who said she has fed more than 1,600 people amid a cost-of-living crisis in the UK has found her garden has been vandalized with salt, killing crops, A viral video Posted on Tuesday. The video has been viewed more than 1.6 million times, as strangers donate and locals offer to help restore her land.
In November, Carly Bird started posting about her “Ali meal with loveThe initiative, which collects the fruits and vegetables she grows from her garden in Harlow, England, into donation boxes that she gives to those in need. I single-handedly fed 190 people, and turned my entire garden into an allotment,” she wrote in her fundraiser.
This week, Burd told viewers that she believes someone trespassed on her plot and poured copious amounts of salt to destroy the “hours and hours” she put in. (Excess salt in agricultural land can It suppresses plant growth).
“Everything I have planted will not grow,” she said, “and I cannot replant it, because it will not grow.”
Her on-screen text says she has “fed 1,613 people through the cost of living crisis” so far.
Commenters flooded the video with words of support, shared grief, and offered her money, advice, and their hands to help bring her garden back to life.
TikTokers who claimed to be farmers themselves said that using plenty of straw and water can remove some of the damage. “We can fix this!” One person reassured her.
“can I help?” another viewer asked, noting that they live nearby. “Please let me know somehow and I will help fix it.”
board Ali’s meal with love fundraiser He witnessed a flood of donations in light of this news. “I can’t believe anyone would do this,” wrote someone with a £10 donation. Another added with another gift of £10: “I am horrified to read what happened to your garden today, but it is great to see the level of support you are receiving here.”
Board thanked viewers for the outpouring of donations at A.J Follow-up video on April 12 But he said being able to taste the salt emanating from the earth was still crushing.
Through tears, Beard said the onions her children and volunteers helped her grow “would have fed 300 families.”
“The amount of work—I can’t even tell you—that went into this assignment, it’s incredible.”
As of Tuesday, Burd’s GoFundMe campaign has raised £83,290 of its initial £4,000 target. Its description states that all money raised “goes directly back to Meal on Myself.”
like Inflation has reached record levelsMany English citizens faced an increased risk of starvation. Last year, the number of children in the UK suffered from food poverty almost doubled.
in television interview Posting on her account in November 2022, Burd said her own experience of not being able to afford food while on her disability made her more sympathetic to those who are currently struggling to make ends meet. (Bird previously discussed living with MS and lupus.)
Today, Burd told viewers that she’s still “completely saddened” by what happened but that she won’t be defeated by the setbacks. It’s unclear who the perpetrator(s) were, and Insider has reached out to Burd.
With the help of others, she said she’s been able to dig up a lot of the salt and plans to cover it with topsoil to “neutralize” it so things can grow again. In the meantime, she plans to turn the area into a community space where neighbors can communicate and share their foods and crops.
“I think I’ll turn it into a seating area where the old people can come and we can have tea and coffee and cake and chat and things like that,” said Burd.
“I am overwhelmed by everyone’s comments and everything,” she added. “I really appreciate it – thank you.”
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