A number of pupils, parents, teachers and catering staff welcomed The Deputy Mayor of Bromley, Councillor Kevin Brooks to the Big Dig on Thursday 18th May at Warren Road Primary School, in Orpington. The event, hosted by Principals, the education arm of leading caterer Harbour & Jones, was held to launch a new fruit and vegetable planting scheme created by the company, which aims to help children understand where their food comes from.
Held on Outdoor Classroom Day, the Big Dig was designed to involve pupils in growing the ingredients for their own school meals. Principals, which delivers healthy and nutritious meals to schools in London and the South East, provided Warren Road with numerous plants, including strawberry, lettuce and tomato. Pupils, parents, grandparents and teachers all got stuck in at the Big Dig to help with the cause. The Deputy Mayor carried out a ceremonial planting after sitting down to lunch with pupils which included garlic and lemon chicken served with seasonal vegetables.
Produce grown in the scheme will subsequently be used as ingredients for the school meals at Warren Road. The specialist education caterer aims to introduce the scheme to other schools in the area.
Patrick Harbour, Director and Co-Founder of Harbour & Jones, which owns Principals, comments: “The team has worked hard to establish a culture of food in our schools by growing produce and cooking alongside the children. We could not think of a more perfect location than Warren Road, one of the largest Primary Schools in the Borough of Bromley. It was a great honour to welcome the Deputy Mayor and we are so pleased with the terrific turn out. We look forward to rolling out this scheme to our other schools as the year progresses.”
The Deputy Mayor, Councillor Kevin Brooks, adds: “I am thrilled to have been a part of such a great event hosted by Principals at Warren Road Primary School. The Big Dig has been an educational and exciting volunteer day that has seen pupils, teachers and parents turn out to get stuck in. Helping children gain a greater understanding of where their food comes from is fully supported and I hope to see it in more schools across the borough.”
Richard Edmonds, Headteacher of Warren Road Primary School, says: “The Big Dig was a brilliant day with lots achieved. Children from the school’s Eco-team, parents, family, friends and staff all worked together to prepare and plant lots of fruit and vegetables into our beds on the field. With so much rain recently, we expect all our plants to start growing very quickly and should be ready to enjoy before the end of term. Many thanks to all involved and to Deputy Mayor, Kevin Brooks for visiting today and getting stuck in!”