SUPERMARKET chain Morrisons has launched a bid to get schoolchildren to grow their own vegetables after research showed a quarter have never planted anything in a garden.
The Yorkshire retailer is giving away thousands of packets of seeds to schools to encourage children to grow greens and learn more about fresh produce.
Researchers for the company discovered that eight per cent of children think bananas grow in Br
itish gardens, and one in 10 have no idea that potatoes and carrots can be grown in a garden, at home or at school. They also found that three-quarters of children are not eating their recommended five portions a day of fruit and vegetables.
To try to encourage pupils to have fun with food and start planting, Morrisons has launched its "Let's Grow" campaign, sending out enough free seeds to grow around 1.5 million salad leaf plants for six million salad bowls.
Fronted by TV gardener Diarmuid Gavin, thousands of schools are expected to register for the campaign.
Parents, friends and families will then be able to get behind the scheme by collecting "Let's Grow" reward vouchers from their local Morrisons store from September 15. Schools can then redeem the vouchers for free gardening equipment, including everything from seeds to spades, composting bins to planters and even a greenhouse.
Diarmuid Gavin said: "By encouraging schoolkids to get green-fingered, we can help them learn more about fresh fruit and veg.
"Planting seeds and tending them to spring up and sprout is great fun and very rewarding. Who knows, having grown and picked their own, they might even get a taste for eating their greens too?"
Angus Maciver, of Morrisons, said: "This is something children can really get stuck into and, by getting their hands dirty planting, growing, pruning and picking, develop a real passion for produce."
The full article contains 312 words and appears in n/a newspaper.
