SOUTH AFRICAN NEWS

MySchool MyVillage MyPlanet funds edible garden

 

Chapel Street Primary School in Woodstock, Cape Town recently celebrated the first harvest from its new edible garden with a harvest table of dishes created by chef and ex-MasterChef contestant, Sue-Ann Allen.

The edible garden, funded by MySchool MyVillage MyPlanet in partnership with Woolworths Financial Services, will yield nearly 10kg of fresh produce every day, benefitting the school's 580 learners, many of whom come to school hungry every day and rely on the meal they get at school. This is the second school food garden funded by MySchool MyVillage MyPlanet and Woolworths Financial Services as part of their continued efforts to support schools in the area and contribute to the communities in which they operate.

The 400m² garden, established in July with the planting of nearly 3,200 seedlings, includes many different varietals of vegetables and herbs - broccoli, spinach, celery, turnips, curly kale, flat kale, beetroot, lettuce, parsley, rosemary, lavender, lemon verbena, basic, cabbage, leeks and many more.

The edible garden will provide a food source to be used within the school's feeding scheme and will be included in the school curriculum wherever possible, not limited to biology. It will also provide a source of extramural activities, such as the garden club at the school.

Great nutritional value

Adding fresh, locally grown produce to the learners' diets has great nutritional value and added to that is the experience of growing their own food. They learn from the garden - planting, growing, harvesting and then eating the food they've grown.

"Learners from many different areas in Cape Town come to school at Chapel Street every day, many of them without a packed lunch and from homes where there are no gardens. This edible garden is our contribution towards giving more learners access to fresh food and a living garden where they can learn how to grow food and take responsibility for the upkeep of the garden. Hopefully, the garden will also spark community and public interest in the school and in urban food gardens," said Pieter Twine, MySchool's GM.

"Chapel Street Primary was identified as an under-resourced school in our area that and has been our flagship school this year. We've been working with them through our participation in the Community of Learning Principals and the Partners for Possibility initiative and wanted to continue supporting them, so they can continue on their journey to be more sustainable and independent. Chapel Street Primary is run by highly committed staff who are motivated to participate in initiatives that will benefit their learners," said Sivi Pillay, CEO of Woolworths Financial Services."

Posted on 2 Nov 2015 09:40