EVERY vote counts as the Shropshire Hills Discovery Centre in Craven Arms bids for financial support from the supermarket where ‘every little helps.’

Grow Cook Learn at Shropshire Hills Discovery Centre is bidding to bag a massive cash boost from the Tesco Bags of Help initiative.

Tesco teamed up with Groundwork to launch its community funding scheme, which sees grants of £4,000, £2,000 and £1,000 – all raised from the 5p bag levy – being awarded to local community projects.

Three groups in every Tesco region have been shortlisted to receive the cash award and shoppers are being invited to head along to the Tesco in Tenbury and vote for who they think should take away the top grant.

Shropshire Hills Discovery Centre is one of the groups on the shortlist.

Grow Cook Learn runs the Shropshire Hills Discovery Centre and 30 acres of River Onny Meadows to enable visitors and residents to appreciate the connection between the food, landscape and history of the Shropshire Hills.

They plan to introduce a Sow & Grow Learning Garden that will contain accessible raised beds and feature food plants of the past, present and future.

With ‘growing’ being a main aim of the charity, this project will help to incorporate this into the centre’s existing primary school visit programme.

The centre also plans to run special sessions on gardening (and cooking with fresh produce) for centre visitors and the local community.

Volunteers and partner organisations will be involved in its creation and ongoing maintenance to encourage people to garden at home or to apply for plots in the Meadow’s Community Garden.

“We are keen to build on the success of our Community Garden in the meadows with the Sow and Grow Learning Garden and want to inspire children, young adults and all of the local community and our visitors to grow and cook their own food, here and at home, by helping them to learn and understand how it all begins,” said Jade Marriott-Lodge, marketing manager at the Discovery Centre.

Voting is open in store throughout May and June. Customers will cast their vote using a token given to them at the check-out in store each time they shop.