MAD Day 1 - Afternoon Session - Martha Payne
Martha Payne started a simple blog as a project to practice her writing skills. She thought blogging about her school lunches would make an interesting theme, that would give her something to write about every day. She and her family had no idea it would go a lot further than that.
Martha herself, who is now 10, and was 9 when she started the blog, was understandably overwhelmed by the tumultuous applause she and her father, David, received when they came on stage. They had planned a two way discussion, charting the history of the blog, and what it has lead to, but David stood in and carried out both sides of the conversation. I really felt for her (some polite British applause might have been better!), but when I had the chance to meet her and her family the following evening, she seemed unaffected by it.
They started by giving some background on where they live, with a small-holding with some livestock etc., near the sea in Southern Scotland. The foods available locally are some of the best in the British Isles, but what do the pupils at Martha's school get for lunch? Mostly beige. Beige in colour, and beige in taste, and no seconds, hence Martha's blog's name, NeverSeconds. It started back in May 2012, and it is worth taking a look at the first few entries to see how it started.
Through the marvel of social media, pupils from schools all over the world started sending Martha pictures of their own lunches, scoring them as Martha scored her own, covering taste, mouthfuls, health rating, price etc, and it quickly snowballed. Then it became major national news when her school, who had given their permission for the blog, decided that they were going to pull the plug. This inevitably lead to a huge amount of attention, with press camped outside their house, and an eventual u-turn by the school.
During all this, Martha and her family highlighted the charity Mary's Meals, something Martha's grandfather had been involved in. It provides meals for kids at schools all around the world, starting by building a kitchen, and then ensuring that those that need it get at least one good meal a day.
As a result of the money raised by readers of NeverSeconds, new facilities could be built at a number of schools, and in October of last year, Martha and her family travelled to Malawi to see the results, and meet the children who were benefiting.
They have now published a book, NeverSeconds: The Incredible Story of Martha Payne, with proceeds going to Marys' Meals. Have a look, it's a great story. Martha has also won some major awards, met the great and good (there are pictures with Benedict Cumberbatch and Rowan Atkinson on the blog, as well as luminaries from the food world such as Jamie Oliver and Nick Nairn), but it is really about making a difference, and that is certainly was she and her family have done.
She's a charming, grounded young lady, not so different from my own daughter, and similarly fighting like cats and dogs with her older brother and younger sister (also just like in my family!). She's getting great support from her family, and I wish them every success.
