London’s iconic Borough Market is welcoming back local primary school pupils who are set to take over the Market’s stalls on Wednesday 4th October for the annual Harvest Sale. Sixty children from 13 London primary schools will be selling their produce grown from seed, with money raised from their sales being donated to food redistribution charity The Felix Project.
The Harvest Sale forms part of the Young Marketeers Programme, which is a partnership run between Borough Market and food education charity School Food Matters. The programme has been running for 12 years and has seen 1,950 pupils selling their produce at London’s oldest fruit & veg market.
The project is designed to bring young children together to grow and market their own delicious fresh fruit and veg. With the guidance of expert gardeners, a food teacher, and Borough Market traders, they learn about where their food comes from, how to cook with seasonal ingredients, and market their produce.
Earlier this year, School Food Matters surveyed 500 pupils and revealed that more than a third (37%) had never seen fruit or vegetables growing, while two thirds (66%) felt they didn’t spend enough time in nature and wanted more. More than half (55%) said they wanted to spend time outside in nature as a reward for good work instead of free time in front of a computer screen*
Jane Swift, CEO at Borough Market, said: “Harvest is always such a magical time of year at Borough Market and the Young Marketeers Sale is one of the highlights of the season. We always love welcoming young children from the local community to showcase their newfound skills in growing and selling their own food. As a charitable trust, we want to support our local community and hope that by equipping young people with a level of nutritional knowledge, basic cooking skills and simple business development skills, we can help the next generation of our local community build a positive future for themselves.”
Stephanie Slater, Founder and Chief Executive of School Food Matters, said: “For 12 years, the Young Marketeers programme has been a beacon of learning and collaboration between School Food Matters and Borough Market. Each year, this project demonstrates the transformative power of food education, as children learn that food has roots (quite literally) and develop essential skills for a healthier and happier future.
“We want every child to be able to enjoy nature and learn about food – a message we took to this year’s Chelsea Flower Show with a special show garden. We will continue with our mission and campaigning until food education is finally afforded the same attention as English and Maths.”
Since the Young Marketeers Programme began, 56,235 children have taken part, raising £12,062 for The Felix Project and FareShare through their sales – the equivalent of 71,192 meals for vulnerable families in need.
To find out more about the Young Marketeers Programme, watch the following video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qwq2M1pH1ig
