Children in Bedford to become market traders for the day, selling school-grown produce

The children will be selling their produce on Wednesday 3 July, 12-2pm, at Bedford Market.

The programme, called Young Marketeers, is run by the charity School Food Matters and gives children the opportunity to grow food from seed with the help of expert gardeners, before harvesting and selling their fresh and tasty produce to the public.

The children have also been learning to cook a range of simple, budget-friendly dishes thanks to a partnership with Food etc., an organisation in Bedford that teaches essential cooking skills within the community.

Next week, dozens of enterprising children from four schools will sell potatoes, kale, beetroot, courgettes, cherries, blackcurrants, various herbs, and more at their stalls, putting the marketing training they’ve had into practice.

All the money raised at the sale will be donated to Bedford Food Bank, which provides emergency food to vulnerable people in the area.

Dela Foster, Development Manager at School Food Matters, said:

“For more than a decade, the Young Marketeers programme has been teaching children about where their food comes from and helping build vital life-long skills. Through taking part in planting, growing, and harvesting, students can reconnect with nature and see food as more than something they can buy at the supermarket. Young Marketeers allows children to interact with the food they eat in a meaningful way, and it’s these experiences and memories that stick with them throughout their time at school."

School Food Matters teaches children about food through a range of engaging school projects and works to improve children’s access to healthy, sustainable meals during their time at school.

This is the fifth year the charity has delivered Young Marketeers outside of London, where the programme began in 2012. School Food Matters is calling out to local organisations and businesses interested in promoting food education and sustainability to get involved and ensure the programme can continue in Bedford both next year and beyond.

In a 2023 survey of children taking part in Young Marketeers, 73% said the programme taught them a new gardening skill, while 66% said they learned something new about where food comes from. Also, 84% of children said they want to continue gardening and growing fruit or veg in the future.