The MarketFresh Schools Program

This program is designed to educate children about the importance of fruit and vegetables in their diets and the processes involved in bringing the produce to their home.

The program covers:

• The seasonality of product.
• How fruit and vegetables are grown.
• The uses of fruit and vegetables.
• The importance of eating fruit and vegetables daily.
• Tasting of fresh seasonal produce.

It includes a short video developed specifically for children, detailing how fruit and vegetables are grown, harvested, transported and get to the stores. It also looks at the difference between fruit and vegetables and the nutritional qualities of fruit and vegetables.

The program concludes with questions being answered and a tasting of seasonal produce such as oranges, bananas, celery, apples, pears, mushrooms, tomatoes, asparagus, bean shoots and alfalfa as well as some more exotic items. A learning activity is usually incorporated into each session with prizes donated by the industry. Recipes and other materials are provided for children to take home.

The Marketfresh Schools Program fits into many areas of learning. Some schools request a visit from the Marketfresh Schools Program as part of learning about nutrition in health lessons and others when they are teaching about plants in science classes.

What is the aim of the program?

• To introduce children to fruit and vegetables that many have not previously experienced.
• Increase awareness of the importance of eating fruit and vegetables.
• Make learning about fruit and vegetables fun.
• Create new opportunities for learning about nutrition at school and home.
• Give children the confidence to try different products.

Who can attend and how many?

The program is tailored to suit junior school and senior students. Probus groups can also be accommodated. The best group sizes are 100 to 230 students.

How long does each session take?

Each session takes around an hour, plus preparation time of the product for tasting. The Marketfresh Schools Program requests that parents and/or teachers be available an hour before each presentation to help prepare the produce.

Cost of program:

A small fee of $150 plus GST per session is charged, which
will be invoiced upon confirmation of your booking.
NB: Fee is non-refundable for cancellations made within two weeks of booking date.

To organise a nutrition session at your school, please contact:

Marketfresh Schools Coordinator
Melbourne Market Authority
Box 1, 542 Footscray Road, West Melbourne 3003
P: +61 3 9258 6179 F: +61 3 9689 5507
E: education.vic@marketfresh.com.au

Download: MarketFresh Schools Program Brochure

Melbourne Markets has a number of resources to support healthy eating initiatives in schools. These include brochures, posters, recipes, seasonal guides, magnets and badges. Healthy eating resources

Marketfresh also includes a FREE kids section to stimulate your kids interest in healthy eating with fun activities and games.

Feedback

To see an example of one of the feedbacks that the program has received - click here.

Sponsors

MarketFresh would like to thank all of our sponsors whom are contributing to the MarketFresh Schools Program which covers approximately 50,000 students a year. If you are interested in contributing to this fantastic program please contact us on the details above.

Please visit our sponsors websites: