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North Pole charity adventure

By 25th May 2010July 27th, 2023No Comments
News

A dinner party showcasing Britain’s best farm produce will be hosted by Guild member and Farmers Guardian senior reporter William Surman next year – at the North Pole!

The Arctic charity event will be staged to raise money for Farmers Overseas Action Group (FOAG), a charity founded by farmers in Worcestershire to help rural communities in Uganda.

“It’s likely to be the shortest but surely the most exclusive dinner party ever,” says Will. “When we get to the Pole, we will do what all British gents and ladies should do – fold out a table and chairs, don our dinner jackets and frocks, open frozen champagne and eat the best British farmed food.”

Will Surman prepares for his North Pole dinner party

Two other adventurers will join Will to compete against other teams of three taking part in the 370-mile Polar Challenge 2011 race to the magnetic North Pole. They will have to ski 370 miles in temperatures dipping as low as -50ºC through an area known as polar bear pass – where 80 per cent of the world’s polar bears live – to reach the dinner party destination.

Each team member must also raise the £22,000 entry fee; Will hopes to find sponsors keen to support this novel means of generating publicity to promote British food, and to raise awareness of the FOAG charity, which concentrates on projects that are usually too small for the objectives of large international charities.

“I visited Uganda last year and saw people with no education, no health service and no food,” says Will. “FOAG runs projects to help tackle these issues and I’m proud to support their good work.”

Contact Will by email and discover more about the work of Farmers Overseas Action Group here.

Read articles from Will’s 2009 visit to Uganda using the links below:

Organic farming initiative

Uganda blog

Small-scale farmers to avert food crisis

Organic pineapple production