Students from schools across Camden will take their classroom learning into the heart of the community this summer, as they sell fresh fruit, vegetables and plants they have grown themselves.
The Know Your Onions Camden Market Day will take place on Thursday 9 July, from 12pm to 2pm, at Inverness Street Market.
Young people from two local secondary schools have spent the past few months growing produce from seed as part of Know Your Onions, a food education programme run by the charity School Food Matters.
The programme gives students aged 11 to 16 hands-on experience in growing food, cooking and learning about where ingredients come from. As part of the project, pupils also take part in cooking masterclasses and visit a market garden to gain a deeper understanding of food production and sustainable farming.
Market Day will give the students the chance to put those skills into practice, from harvesting and presenting their produce to speaking with customers and raising money for future food education projects at their schools.
Visitors to Inverness Street Market can expect a colourful range of seasonal produce, including beetroot, carrots, chives, mixed salad, nasturtiums, parsley, peas, potatoes, radishes and spring onions. Students will also be selling chilli, cucumber and tomato plants.
All money raised on the day will be reinvested into further food education work at the participating schools.
Know Your Onions is a fully funded programme designed to help young people build practical gardening, cooking and enterprise skills, while encouraging a healthier and more positive relationship with food.
Supporters of the scheme say that giving children access to food education helps them develop the knowledge, confidence and appreciation needed to make informed choices about nutritious and sustainable food throughout their lives.
Dela Foster, Head of Food Education at School Food Matters, said:
“Food education shouldn’t stop at primary school. Know Your Onions gives young people the chance to build practical life skills, from growing and cooking food to understanding where it comes from and how it connects to health and the environment.
“Market Day is always a fantastic opportunity for students to share what they’ve learned and feel proud of what they’ve achieved.”
