A new campaign encouraging children to grow their own fruit and vegetables has been launched in Milton Keynes.
The Summer Kitchen Project will offer foster children and school children a free learning experience, which aims to show them how easy it is to grow fresh produce and cook their own healthy food.
The campaign was officially launched on Saturday by Cllr Martin Petchley and Siobhan Harper, Business Development Director at Wavendon Gate, in Milton Keynes.
The Mayor says, “It was a great pleasure and privilege to be at the event and to meet the wonderful people who are doing great things for the children.”
Children painted their strawberry pots and planted them, while selecting fruit to make their own smoothies. They played games where they had to guess what vegetables were in the box along with potato and spoon racing.
Brigitte Thomas, Registered Manager at Orange Grove Foster Care in Milton Keynes, says, “We are committed to improving the outcomes for children in our care. We always highlight the importance of sitting down together at meal times whenever possible, even if it’s a handful of times each week.
“We believe that children are more likely to try new foods if they’ve grown it themselves and enjoyed it – helping them to eat healthy and regularly reach their five a day.”
Fosterplus and Orange Grove Fostercare will be hosting fun, interactive workshops throughout the summer on Thursday 26th July and 16th August from 10am-2pm to show children how to grow fruit and vegetables and how to use their produce in fun, child friendly recipes.
Further details on the project can be found here.
Orange Grove and Fosterplus are independent fostering agencies, which look after vulnerable children and young people. They are part of Partnerships in Children’s Services (PICS), whose aim as a fostering provider is to ensure that those in their care lead happy, stable, active childhoods – childhoods that provide the foundations for fulfilled and productive adulthoods.
