YOUNGSTERS from eight Barnsley primary schools are set to become market traders next week in support of an important cause.
Pupils from Barugh Green , Joseph Locke, Laithes, Oakhill, Queen’s Road, The Forest, Thurlstone and Worsbrough Common primary schools are among the first to be taking part in the Young Marketeers scheme.
Children from across the schools will swap the classroom for market stalls on July 7 as they sell fresh, school-grown fruit and vegetables to the public.
They have spent the past few months growing produce from seed with support from expert gardeners as part of Young Marketeers, a food education programme run by charity School Food Matters and funded by Barnsley Council.
Now, they’ll harvest and sell their produce to shoppers, putting their new gardening, teamwork and marketing skills into practice while learning more about where food comes from.
Visitors to Barnsley Market can expect to find the children selling a colourful selection of seasonal produce, including beetroot, chard, courgettes, cucumbers, peas, radishes and tomatoes, alongside borage, calendula and a variety of salads.
Young Marketeers helps children develop practical gardening and enterprise skills while nurturing a life-long positive relationship with food, providing hands-on outdoor learning opportunities and increasing awareness of food waste.
Giving access to food education equips children with the knowledge, confidence and appreciation of nutritious, sustainable food needed to make healthy, informed choices well into adulthood.
A spokesperson for School Food Matters said: “Young Marketeers is a food education programme that gives primary school children an opportunity to learn about food production, grow their own veg, and set up a stall at their local community market.
“During the programme, our expert gardeners, chefs and programme leads deliver a series of four or five sessions to children.
“Participating children will have an opportunity to discuss the programme through school assemblies, get their hands in the soil through gardening and seed sowing sessions, indulge their creativity through marketing sessions, and manage a market stall at their local street market.
“The programme culminates in a lovely Market Day when our Young Marketeers sell the produce they have grown in their school gardens.
“As all proceeds from Market Day go to local food surplus and redistribution charities, there is an opportunity for children to understand the power of community engagement in tackling food poverty.”
Stephanie Slater MBE, founder and chief executive of School Food Matters, said: “Food education is a vital life skill, and hands-on experiences such as growing and selling fresh produce can help children build a real connection with food and where it comes from.
“For 15 years, our Young Marketeers programme has been giving children the chance to learn new skills, work as a team and take pride in what they’ve grown.
“Market Day is a celebration of the value of food education and a moment for hundreds of enterprising young gardeners across the country to shine.”
Money raised from sales on the day will be donated to FareShare Yorkshire, a Barnsley-based organisation which sources and redistributes good surplus food that would otherwise go to waste.
