Glastonbury Festival: Funding school projects, charities and food banks in Somerset

  • Watch Verity Wishart's report

Glastonbury Festival makes an impact on a global scale, but it also supports vital work on its doorstep. 

Fourteen miles from the festival gates is Wedmore Village Farm, home to The Food Forest Project.

The charity has set up a Food Bank Market Garden, where they grow fresh produce for local food banks and schools in Glastonbury suffering with food insecurity.

Founder, Tristan Faith, says the funding from Glastonbury Festival makes a huge difference.

Tristan said: "It's really really important, it helps us to buy the seed, the compost, it helps us to resource the whole space essentially.

Tristan Faith set up the Food Bank Market Garden providing fresh produce to food banks and local schools.

"If it wasn't for Glastonbury Festival we wouldn't have had support from the likes of Coldplay, Clipper Teas, Charlie Bigham."

Barney Spooner works for the Food Forest Project and says: "it's a really special job to have.

"We've had quite a challenging winter and spring with all the wet weather and establishing the garden for the first time, so it makes it all the more special now the sun's out getting to garden and grow food."

Born out of a culture of embracing music and togetherness, the festival plays a key role at St John’s C of E Infants School, nestled in the heart of Glastonbury.

The festival provides funding for enriching opportunities including music lessons, a new outdoor forest school and transforming one of their corridors with a mural.

The funding allows children to take part in enriching activities that otherwise wouldn't be available to them.

Headteacher, Kerry Devane says it brings "creativity to the school", something she says is really important in an area of deprivation.

"Having the festival we can't ignore the fact we need to create musicians and artists of the future."

The school also receives funds for providing stewards for the event, which are made up of teachers and parents.

"We think it's going to be very busy, few night shifts, redirecting the crowds", one said.

Funds from Glastonbury Festival have allowed St John's Infant School to transform one of their corridors.

"Keeping people happy, keep them moving, keep them happy, look after people", another added.

Teacher and festival volunteer, Jessica Applewood says for both staff and pupils the festival is a huge part of their lives.

"It's like Christmas , they're counting down - they're looking forward to it, they all know somebody who is working there. It's a really big deal."

Thanks to the help of Glastonbury Festival, for the children at St John’s -  the party carries on all year round and provides opportunities for headliners of the future.