Borough Market, Pic: Mack Male
Over 1,000 meals for Londoners in need can now be provided thanks to local Southwark school children who set up a stall in Borough Market raising £320 for charity.
A total of 32 children from Robert Browning, Charles Dickens, Boutcher CE Primary Schools and UAE Southbank Secondary school were encouraged to incorporate food from their own diverse cultures into the sale with cheese balls from Brazil to patties from Jamaica and cornbread from Sierra Leone showcasing the diversity among children within the borough.
The initiative was organised by School Food Matters, an organisation that aims to educate children on the origins of their food and that they can enjoy sustainable fresh food while at school, in association with the charity Fare Share who are tackling hunger and food waste in the UK.
In recent years the number of Londoners turning to services such as food banks has increased rapidly with over 134,000 emergency supplies given out to Londoners in 2017-18, according to Trussell Trust one of the leading foodbanks charities in the UK.
This was the second year in which Borough Market has hosted this celebration sale and in addition to raising money for charity one of the main themes of the event was to help encourage children to learn more about the heritage of Southwark as well as develop their baking skills. James Morris, a teacher for one of the schools said: “It’s important to teach the kids to cook for themselves and learn the history and heritage of Southwark which they are all apart of and they get to have fun while doing it”.
In preparation the young marketeers spent the day before preparing for the sale with a workshop where they honed their baking skills while also having a lesson on the history of Southwark while they were encouraged to share their own stories from their communities within Southwark. One young marketer ,12 said: “We spent yesterday picking our ingredients and deciding what we were going to bring in and how to make it”.
The children were not just responsible for making the products but were also responsible running the stall unassisted like an ordinary trader as they set the prices for their food and handled transactions with customers in addition to explaining what each product was as well as the unique cultural background they came from.
The teachers were able to take a back seat and observe from afar as the market filled up with tourists and some parents of the children who were able to come and see their children in action while supporting a good cause.
A few lovely pictures from today’s #YoungMarketeers sale at Borough Market. Well done to all the students who took part, selling baked goods inspired by their different cultural backgrounds. Together they raised £320 for @FareShareLON! @sfmtweet pic.twitter.com/gbm2HAHGPs
— Borough Market (@boroughmarket) November 21, 2018
