Borough Market launches project to help children learn about food

Borough Market has launched 'Market Explorers', a free education resource aimed at connecting primary school children with the food they eat. With the curriculum in mind, children will be encouraged to look at how produce is grown or made, its history, preparation, cooking and how the ingredients are used in the dishes of different cultures.

The six initial 'Market Explorers' units will on a different ingredient each time.

The first two ingredients for children to explore are cauliflower and milk. Subsequent units and accompanying videos will be released on Mondays and Wednesdays for three weeks to support home schooling parents through to the school holidays.

The free to download A5 booklets will have a range of engaging information and activities aimed at 5-8 year olds, and budding foodies can look forward to learning more about strawberries, bread, honey and tomatoes later in the month.

Parents are encouraged to sign up ahead of time to access the free educational materials, which will be available on Facebook Units, enabling social learning in a private group.

Parents can join and explore at the same time, enabling them to ask questions and build a collaborative community.

The programme has been produced in collaboration with children's cookery consultants Sally Brown and Kate Morris, who have created CBeebies cooking shows including 'I Can Cook' and 'My World Kitchen', as well as publishing four children's cookery books.

"Borough Market is all about sharing and connecting with others through the joy of food," said Kate Howell, director of communications and development for the charitable trust which runs the market.

"We want to inspire the next generation of chefs, home cooks and food lovers. We know that not all children will be back at school in June, and so we thought that parents might like a helping hand with fun activities to get children interested in different ingredients – especially as so many have been cooking at home during lockdown.

"Our traders share a wealth of food expertise, with many of them being primary producers who grow, rear or create the food they sell.

"By teaching young people where their food has come from, how to grow it and what to make with it, we hope to inspire young people to take a more sustainable approach to their food choices in the future – perhaps we might see some of them join us as traders."