Case Study: New Covent Garden Market
New Covent Garden Market (NCGM) is Britain's largest fruit
and vegetable wholesale market. However, the majority of
pupils in schools around its site live in tower blocks and
have very little access to gardens and farms. 'Sprouts' is an
initiative created by Wandsworth Borough Council and NCGM
to give inner city school children the opportunity to learn fi rst
hand about the food they eat. Not only does Sprouts help
children learn about fruit and vegetables, it also helps them
learn how they are grown and how they get on to our plates,
both at school and at home, helping them infl uence their
parents food purchases.
Sprouts inspires children to eat healthily, learn about where
their food comes from and also to connect with the market
and their local community. The project involves taking the
children on visits to both NCGM and to a working farm.
NCGM works closely with Wandsworth Borough Council
and with market tenants to help bring the tours to life for the
children. Participating schools also visit growers outside the
city who supply the market. This is often a real 'eye-opener' for
the children as many of them have never been outside London.
The project also places an emphasis on sustainability by
getting the children involved in growing a sustainable garden.
Over time, more and more tenants of NCGM have been keen
to assist with the Sprouts
project and it is now due to
be rolled out across other
wholesale markets in the UK.
Gold Award Winner of 2010 Community Partnership Awards: Education - SME Category
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More Information
FDF has published a booklet Community Partnership Awards 2010 (pdf, 2Mb) featuring a range of company case studies from Community Partnership Award
winners.