On Thursday 9 July, Darley Street Market was filled with the voices of some very young traders.
Children from six local primary schools gathered to sell the fruit, vegetables, herbs, flowers and plants they had grown during the spring and summer terms as part of Young Marketeers, a food education programme run by the national charity School Food Matters in partnership with Grow to School and funded by Bradford Council.
With support from school staff and School Food Matters' expert gardeners, the children grew an impressive range of produce despite the recent heatwaves. Sales of potatoes, onions, garlic, cabbage, beetroot, lettuce, broad beans, herbs, flowers and potted plants raised nearly £150 for Bradford Metropolitan Food Bank.
As well as teaching children how to grow produce from seed and encouraging a lifelong positive relationship with food, Young Marketeers helps them develop valuable teamwork, enterprise and marketing skills. Throughout the day, the children confidently chatted with customers, putting those skills into practice as they sold their home-grown produce.
One child reflected: "It's been really good interacting with people and getting to know them." Another simply said: "I've loved this!"
