The entrepreneurial youngsters are displaying the fresh fruit and vegetables they have grown at their schools for shoppers at Barking Market on Friday (July 4) if you’re looking for bargain healthy produce.
They have been taking part in food education programmes run by the School Food Matters charity, with the blessing of Barking and Dagenham Council’s trading standards team.
The two programmes, called Know our Onions and Young Marketeers, give children a chance to grow food from seed with the help of expert gardeners, before harvesting and selling it to the public.
MORE NEWS: Children pitch ideas for social change at Dragons’ Den-style competition in Barking
Enterprising pupils from 10 schools are selling potatoes, kale, beetroot, courgettes, strawberries, blackcurrants and herbs from their stalls on the day, putting their marketing training into practice.
“We want every child to understand that food begins in the soil — not on a supermarket shelf,” the charity’s founder Stephanie Slater explained.
“There’s no better way to bring that to life than giving children the chance to grow their own fruit and vegetables at school.
“The Young Marketeers programme has been educating children about food production for 14 years, sparking their entrepreneurial spirit while nurturing healthy eating habits and awareness about food waste.
“This year’s market day is showing shoppers the fruits of their labour.”
The money raised on market day is for the Plan Zheroes food distribution charity and to pay for further food education in schools.
The programmes are being used up and down the country with a nationwide campaign to improve the school food system and helping children develop an informed relationship about healthy eating.
They also teach children gardening skills — but especially where food really comes from.
Good school food can “unlock a healthier and more sustainable future for every child”, the charity believes.
It wants to see a system where all children have nutritious food.
The youngsters would leave school with “an informed and positive relationship with food”.
