COL’S MARKET - AN IDEA TO PUT FOOD AT THE HEART OF YOUR SCHOOL

Enjoying food together, is the perfect way to engage with children and encourage them to try new dishes or ingredients. Food projects can also offer support to families.

At Surrey Square Primary School, they put on Col’s Corner Marketplace, a weekend market for parents and students. The aim? To promote physical and mental well-being in a place where families feel safe.

On offer is tasty and filling food for families to enjoy on-site or take away for free.

Fresh ingredients are also available for families to take home for free, including a Felix Project stall with free high-quality seasonal produce from Natoora. This helps parents with the cost of buying fresh ingredients, to cook at home, enabling them to cook great food for all the family with fresh, seasonal ingredients they might otherwise not be able to afford.

There are arts and crafts activities for kids and take-home activity packs to keep children entertained and engaged. A swap shop is set up in the dining room for parents to come with uniforms etc. Not only does this support families with the cost of education, but it also practices important ideas of reusing, recycling, reducing waste and thinking sustainably. The school has also enlisted sports coaches to engage children in some fun physical activities to support their health.

The school is working with different organisations to help to bring their vision to life, currently collaborating with organisations such as Impact on Urban Health, The Felix Food Foundation, and Edible Rotherhithe, and this can serve as a case study for how you as a school can work creatively with your community and local organisations to set up a holistic approach to implementing new changes to school provisions for families.