The #FeedTheNation social campaign helps raise awareness by sharing farmers’ views on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook to reassure the public at large that the farming community is doing the best it can to keep the country going.

Despite being classed as very high risk to coronavirus, 86-year-old Devonshire farmer Alec Burrough, is working every day to keep Britain farming and help #FeedTheNation.

What farmers do today will most likely stay in the public’s mind for a generation. However, with farmers humility and self-awareness, they are not describing themselves as “heroes” – but simply declaring their willingness to help in any way they can and be as supportive and welcoming as safely and realistically possible.

Farmers are helping to feed the nation during the coronavirus pandemic by setting up makeshift drive-through shops. Manor Farm Fruits, near Hints, Staffordshire, is growing 22 hectares of strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, gooseberries, redcurrants, blackcurrants and blackberries, and is offering its first-ever “Strawberry Drive-thru”.

Key players in agriculture have got behind the #FeedTheNation campaign to back UK farmers working flat out to produce safe, affordable and sustainable food to feed the nation. It has never been more important to show the British public the effort that goes into putting food on their tables.

The campaign is raising public awareness by highlighting the actions farmers are taking to keep the nation going during difficult times.

Response to the campaign has been both surprising and outstanding, but most of all, the comments have been heart-warming.

The Farmers Army

As part of the #FeedTheNation campaign, Farmers Weekly has created the Farmers Army initiative. The Farmers Army was created in the spirit of the 1941 competition published in Farmers Weekly’s Home Section that asked for ideas about how the thousands of women and children evacuated from towns “might be brought into a useful relationship with country and farming life”.

In the 1940’s the Land Army helped win a war through resilience and sheer stubbornness and now 80 years later Farmers Weekly is once again asking the general public to come and help farmers that need domestic seasonal workers to tackle the harvest labour shortage and be able to #FeedTheNation.

Karl Schneider, Editor of Farmers Weekly, said:

“Britain's farmers are playing a vital role in this crisis. It falls to all of us to work together to do everything we can to keep our farms - and our nation - going.”

Charity Initiative

Farmers Weekly is now taking the #FeedTheNation campaign a step forward and are asking all media outlets to help and work together to connect farmers that would like to donate part of their harvest with charities such as feeding low income families and our NHS heroes in cities, towns and villages across the UK.

Help with suggestions and contacts of charities all over the UK that would like to get involved and share the good work that farmers and the supply chain are doing to keep the nation fed. Use the hashtag #FeedTheNation and join the conversion on social media.