On Friday 10 July, Grainger Market was filled with the voices of some very young traders.
Children from eight local primary schools gathered to sell the fruit, vegetables, herbs and plants they had grown during the spring and summer terms as part of Young Marketeers, a food education programme run by the national charity School Food Matters and funded by The National Lottery Community Fund and the CLA Charitable Trust.
With support from school staff and School Food Matters‘ expert gardeners, the children grew an impressive range of produce despite the recent heatwaves. Sales of potatoes, lettuce, salad leaves, rhubarb, tomato plants and more raised £329 for FareShare North East.
As well as teaching children how to grow produce from seed and encouraging a lifelong positive relationship with food, Young Marketeers helps them develop valuable teamwork, enterprise and marketing skills. Throughout the day, the children confidently chatted with customers, met local MPs and the Mayor, and put those skills into practice as they sold their home-grown produce, with some schools selling out completely.
One teacher said:
“Wonderful to see our children speaking to the public and watching their confidence grow.”
Another added:
“Today’s session was fantastic. It was fantastic to see the children’s enthusiasm. They were so proud of their achievements.”
One young trader fully embraced the role of market seller, telling a customer:
“It’s £2… but it is for charity so you can always pay more!”
