Yes Peas - show your support for UK growers

It's Great British Pea Week (10 – 16th July) giving everyone a reason to celebrate peas this harvesting season.

The National Awareness Week, dedicated to peas, has been launched by the Yes Peas! campaign and the British pea vining industry.

Follow on Twitter and share the experiences of Great British pea growers - @YesPeas

The UK is the largest producer and consumer of frozen peas in Europe, with the average person in Britain eating nearly 9,000 peas per year. This July, approximately 700 pea growers will harvest 2 billion portions of peas to feed Britain for the year.

Great British Pea Week aims to inform the public about the grower and industry dedication to get billions of peas from field to fork.

Lasting an average of six to eight weeks, the harvesting process is a complex operation. Farmers work 24 hours a day, seven days a week using viners to harvest, shell and transport the peas from field to frozen as quickly as possible – the majority in just 150 minutes. 

Stephen Francis, Director of Lincolnshire-based producer group, Fen Peas, and member of the YesPeas! campaign, said: “Great British Pea Week is back for its second year to inspire the nation to cook with peas during harvest season."

"It will reconnect people with the important heritage and provenance of frozen peas and their fascinating journey from the field to our freezers," he added.

“The locked in freshness of frozen peas means we can enjoy British peas all year round, so Great British Pea Week is here to put peas firmly on the food agenda and give everyone a reason to enjoy this versatile and nutritional vegetable at the peak of the British harvesting season, as well as all year-round.”

Watch Stephen's challenge to harvest peas in incredibly difficult conditions, on #farmercam

The hi-tech machinery and exact precision needed during harvesting requires growers to collaborate to produce the crop. There are currently 18 farmer groups along the east coast of the UK, from Essex to North of Dundee who produce the wonderful pea. The east-facing seaboard and maritime climate is the perfect environment for growing superior quality peas.

Versatile and nutritious, frozen peas are a popular freezer essential and the Yes Peas! campaign is asking everyone to get involved this Great British Pea Week and get cooking with peas. TV chef and Yes Peas! ambassador, Rachel Green has created some recipes to inspire everyone this Great British Pea Week, available at www.peas.org.

Find out more on the Yes Peas website and show your support for British growers