Thirty Leyton teenagers got to experience the morning rush at Walthamstow Market
By Waltham Forest Echo

Students selling produce yesterday morning (credit: School Food Matters)

Leyton students moonlighted as market traders this week and raised hundreds of pounds selling fruit and vegetables they grew at school.

Thirty children from Norlington School, The Lammas School and Belmont Park ran a stall at Walthamstow Market yesterday morning, raising a total of £376.

They took part in the “Know your Onions” run by charity School Food Matters, now in its fifth year, which teaches teenagers how to grow and cook food to promote an interest in health eating and nature.

This story is published by Waltham Forest Echo, Waltham Forest's free monthly newspaper and free news website. We are a not-for-profit publication, published by a small social enterprise. We have no rich backers and rely on the support of our readers. Donate or become a supporter.

Dela Foster, from School Food Matters, said: “Teenagers can be initially confused about why they should learn about food growing and cooking.

“For many, visiting a farm is the moment when they see why this is important and, when they taste the amazingly fragrant, spicy dishes they have created with vegetables, they start to understand the fun.   

 ”Finally, market day gives them this incredible opportunity to interact with the public and see the value their community places on home-grown veg.”

The money raised will be reinvested back into their school budgets.

No news is bad news

Independent news outlets like ours – reporting for the community without rich backers – are under threat of closure, turning British towns into news deserts.

The audiences they serve know less, understand less, and can do less.

If our coverage has helped you understand our community a little bit better, please consider supporting us with a monthly, yearly or one-off donation.

Choose the news. Don’t lose the news.

Monthly direct debit

Annual direct debit

£5 per month supporters get a digital copy of each month’s paper before anyone else, £10 per month supporters get a digital copy of each month’s paper before anyone else and a print copy posted to them each month. £50 annual supporters get a digital copy of each month's paper before anyone else.