The Willunga Farmers Market joined with local schools in 2009 to assist children to adopt a lifelong healthy lifestyle.

Schools in the Willunga / Aldinga area are being given a healthy boost by the Willunga Farmers Market’s School Kitchen Garden Project (SKGP), to encourage children to grow, harvest and eat nutritious food.

Willunga, Aldinga, Waldorf and Gallilee Primary Schools came to the table in July and received an initial $500 grant.

The grant is available to any eligible school (subject to availability of funds) to help support local primary schools establish or expand a school kitchen garden.

As schools are a strong focal point in the community, they can effect community change in knowledge and behaviour.

“We want to offer school children an opportunity to experience the full cycle of food production,” says Willunga Farmers Market SKGP Chair, Vicki Osland.

“We envisage that the SKGP grant will assist in the development of a productive vegetable garden and a nurturing of interest in food production and healthy eating amongst the primary schools and children involved.”

The Willunga, Aldinga, Waldorf and Gallilee primary school students are excited about this opportunity to grow and harvest their own food crops.

The grant money will assist them to purchase:
• equipment eg spades, gloves, gum boots, hoses, etc
• seedlings / seeds, plants, fruit trees, etc
• compost bins / composting materials / soil preparation costs
• garden bed infrastructure
• irrigation equipment.

Participating schools will also have access to Willunga Farmers Market stallholders who will offer support, education or appropriate expertise in gardening, composting, pruning etc.

A stall at the Willunga Farmers Market may be provided for the children to sell their excess produce in the future - if they haven’t eaten and cooked it all at school!

There’s been fantastic response from the local school communities so the Market is working out ways to raise more funds to extend this worthwhile project. One fundraising venture is the new and stylish WFM apron.