Whoever would have thought that when nine-year-old Martha Payne started to document the quality and quantity of her school lunches that she’d turn into such a modern heroine?

Just six weeks ago Martha launched her NeverSeconds blog, keeping a diary of her school meals, accompanied by a food-o-meter and health ratings and pictures. After just three posts, she had more than 25,000 hits, and by the time she posted her sixth report, the council had involved itself, sending a representative to the school to investigate.

Sure enough, as the weeks progressed, more and more vegetables began to appear on Martha’s dinner tray, proving that her diary was making people sit up and take notice.

Until last Thursday, that is, when Argyll and Bute Council instructed the school to ban Martha’s blog, prompting her  Goodbye post.  Martha’s main lament was that since her blog had been started in a bid to raise money for Mary’s Meals, a charity that organises school feeding projects in poverty-hit communities, the ban meant that she would fall some £5,000 short of her £7,000 target.

However, with thousands of tweets of support, backing from the Guardian, nationwide news coverage and with celebrity chef Jamie Oliver in her corner, Martha did somewhat better. Not only had the council reversed its decision by lunchtime, but by the end of Friday, supporters had helped raise in excess of £34,000 for the cause.

Right now, more than 5,000 people have pledged and the amount has exceeded £82,000. Not a bad result for a nine year old with a love of vegetables!

If you want to join Martha’s campaign to raise money for Martha’s Meals, visit her JustGiving page here.