Kids from six Southwark primary schools provided thousands of meals for families in need by selling their own produce at busy London market this week.
On Wednesday, 60 children from 12 primary schools, including six schools from Southwark, sold their own produce grown from seed at Borough Market’s Harvest Sale.
The ‘Young Marketeers’ project has been running for 11 years and aims to educate kids in where food comes from.
Local school kids prepare for stint as traders at Borough Market
In total they raised £530, which will provide 3,180 meals for vulnerable families across the capital, through food distribution charity, The Felix Project.
As well as giving back to the community, the project has been beneficial for the kids themselves.
Charles Dickens School in Borough takes part every year. Assistant Head, Daniela Jamois said it’s been especially great for children with learning difficulties.
“This project has been a game-changer with the kids with extra educational needs. A lot of these children are very sensory; growing herbs that they can smell, and touch has proven very effective in calming them down.”
She said whilst only a few children get to go to the actual sale, she tries to get the whole school involved. “Every year each child plants a seed for a different vegetable – and that’s what we end up selling at the market.”
One parent with a child at Charles Dickens Primary, said “I’ve watched my child grow through growing!”
She said he hasn’t always been good at trying different foods. “Since he’s been growing food, he’s so much more adventurous with what he eats now.”
Growing the food is only part of it; earlier in the year they go to the market and learn about different produce.
Worawan Kamann has had a Thai street food stall at Borough for nearly 10 years and about a year ago, she opened Raya, a grocery store specialising in southeast Asian produce. Ahead of the Harvest Sale she got the kids to visit and did a tasting with them to give them a lesson on where food comes from.
“Nowadays, kids see food that’s pre-packaged, even fruit and vegetables that have already been cut up. They are so used to seeing this, that when they see a vegetable freshly picked or straight from the ground, they aren’t sure what to do with it.”
She adds that this this should be a project that every school takes part in. “For people to eat healthily, they need to have a diverse diet. So knowing about different fruits and vegetables is important.”