On Thursday October 5th 2017, 62 primary school children set up shop under the arches of Borough Market for the Harvest Sale to sell their fantastic autumnal produce they had grown from seed. There were plenty of pumpkins, chard, apples and pears for eager customers to buy and included a special visit from the Mayor of Southwark and BBC London news. All proceeds made on the day, £528.97, went to food waste charity FareShare which will enable them to distribute 2115 meals to vulnerable families across the capital.
Leading up to sale day, students were taught the art of growing veg from seed with gardener Chris Collins and learnt tips from Borough Market traders on how to create a successful stall. The students also had an eye-opening visit to the FareShare depot in London. One teacher from a Southwark school said:
“Working with FareShare showed children at our school the scale of the food waste problem. Many expected to see piles of rotting veg – not perfectly good food.”