The Launch of our Micro Greens Project

Obesity remains a massive problem in the UK!  My snacking business was specifically set up to do its bit with regards making a positive difference to people’s eating habits, yet it has been apparent to me for some while, that there’s a debilitating lack of understanding in this country as to what healthy food really means.

I am not coming from an informed position, my background is not in nutrition, medicine or food science, but even as an inquisitive ‘layman’ it is all too clear that if we are going to move the dial, there needs to be ‘real’ change in people’s eating habits and a better appreciation of good food, and how it is grown.

Against this backdrop, I decided that the cornerstone of the CSR policy for Pep & Lekker would be ‘education’. Not in the ‘finger wagging,’ preachy sense but via an involving, practical format that educates both children and parents about food and its place in the natural world. 

It was therefore a blessing when I stumbled across Geoff and Chloe who are educating children about food and gut health with their character playing cards. I asked them whether in a small way Pep & Lekker could support their charity Candodo and build on their initiative. It seemed to me that ‘growing seeds’ would be a neat fit for a company selling seed-based snacks.

To this end, Goeff and Chloe introduced me to an amazing head-teacher that they are working with, Mrs Curtis at Ash Grange Nursery & Primary School. Mrs Curtis has transformed her school from one that was struggling, to a flourishing academic institution with a massive waiting-list.

Fortuitously Mrs Curtis, loves our Pep & Lekker seed snacks, and she agreed that we could pilot a program for her Year 2, where they would grow ‘micro greens’ in school and then at home. We selected micro-greens as they are easy to grow, shoot up in an instant and are both nutritious and delicious! 

Juliette and I were invited to the school for the launch of the project. We were privileged to see Mrs Curtis in action. Knowing every child in the class by name, Mrs Curtis surprised them with our new ‘micro greens’ project. They were enthralled as she explained in detail how the children were to plant, sunflower seeds, snow peas, and broccoli seeds, watch and nurture their growth and then within only a few days eat what they had planted.

In their cloud groups, children grabbed a handful of coconut coya mulch, previously prepared by a very industrious class helper from Class 6. They squashed the mulch into a tray with air-holes making sure that the tray was full and there were no gaps. The coconut coya was perfect as it didn’t stick to the children’s hands and was not too dirty. One after another the children sprinkled the seeds on to the trays and pushed them into the coya, ensuring that the seeds did not touch each other and had room to flourish. A tray was then placed on top and children were charged with getting heavy books to weigh the top tray down. I think the teacher may notice that she is short of dictionaries for the next few days!

Mrs Curtis then explained to the children how to nurture the planted seeds, and carefully spray them with water on a daily basis.

The class promised to send me photos of the micro greens as they shoot up and push the books up and it will be great to see which seeds are most successful and how long it takes them to be ready to pick and eat. Testing and experimenting will all be part of the pilot.

Seeing the children’s engagement in the project was a complete joy, and I am intrigued to see how this pilot will evolve over time. The possibilities are endless….

Thank to Mrs Curtis, her very industrious Class 2 gardeners and a truly attentive Class 6 helper.