Ladies in Pigs update – a restructure and ambitious plans for education

You may be aware that Ladies in Pigs has undergone a small restructure since our previous Chairwoman Debbie Wilson stepped down in March.

There have been many small changes within the organisation, with Diana Grossey appointed as our new Events Co-ordinator and NPA’s Andrea Tranter elected as Executive Committee Chair, supported by Vice Chair, Suffolk pig producer Susannah Gimson and our treasurer Jayne Faulkner.

We, as officers, are supported by the wider exec members, Chloe Gimson, Toni Bagguely, Joseph Lunt, Natalie Kirkman, Alice Freeman and Evie Evans.

Busy summer

We have had a busy summer attending shows up and down the country, giving out our traditional tasty samples of British Red Tractor pork recipes and talking to many members of the public and producers, whilst also delivering educational workshops at many of the county shows.

We have worked with thousands of primary aged children and their parents. Its been a busy period and we are excited to be heading into a new academic year with lots of ambitious plans, and reviewing which shows we will be at in 2027.

If you know of a show or an event you think we should be at please get in touch and let us know.

Our Social media team have been really busy building our profile and following on Instagram and Facebook – you can help support us for free by liking and sharing our posts and even commenting on them to help push our messages out to wider audience!

Education plan

As part of some of the new plans and changes within the organisation, Ladies in Pigs have some ambitious plans to widen the deliverance of their highly rated education plan to primary school children.

To kick the plans off, for the upcoming academic year we are looking to recruit members across the country to help promote our education plan.

All members are paid for their time, with full training provided to help give the confidence in delivering the workshops. The roles are available to those who are passionate about British food and farming and are willing to travel into local schools to deliver a tailored educational cookery workshop.

There is a small cost of £30 per year, which covers your insurance, enhanced DBS check, uniform and food hygiene/allergen training.

To help spread the word of our education programme even further we are also looking for ‘Education Champions’. They will work alongside Diana in making contacts at a local level and contacting local schools, with an aim of getting at least one school a week receiving a workshop in their local area and to help take care of all the necessary paperwork and organising of the teams.

We are aiming at launching three Education Champions for the start of the 2026/2027 academic year.

• If you are interested in becoming a member or in being an Education Champion, please email Diana at events@ladiesinpigs.co.uk.

In order to get these roles off the ground we need to raise £2,000 per school box to help towards the cost of the kit required to enable the Education Champions and our members to go into schools to deliver the workshops.

We are especially keen to get the education champions launched in Yorkshire, Lincolnshire and Suffolk. We have secured £2,000 in funding in Somerset to launch an education champion for the first time in the south-west – however we desperately need members from that region to help us.

If you or your business is in a position to sponsor a box, please make contact with either Andrea at NPA or Diana at the above email address, to discuss the sponsorship opportunities.

Sponsoring an education box in your local area is a great way to promote your business and support your industry.