Kids at schools with kitchen gardens could be in the running to win cash sponsorship for their gardens at tomorrow’s Lunch Box Challenge at Mullubimby Farmers’ Market.
Over the past three years, North Byron Farmers’ Markets (which includes Mullum and New Brighton) have donated some $25,000 to the establishment of kitchen gardens in primary schools across northern Byron and southern Tweed shires.
Now they are set to show off the produce of those gardens in a challenge that pits school against school to create healthy lunchboxes of food, at least 75 per cent of which is picked from their kitchen gardens.
At the competition, which will start at 8.30, each competitor will produce a luchbox that contains:
- A main (such as a sandwich/wrap/roll, pasta with vegetables, soup, frittata or sushi etc)
- A fruit or vegetable snack, such as whole fruit, cut up veggie sticks, canned fruit in natural juice, a small salad
- A second snack based on a core food, such as reduced fat yoghurt, grainy crackers etc)
- And a drink.
All vegetables and fruits must be either from their school garden of the farmers market.
In addition, each school will submit the recipes of their lunchbox, pictures of their school garden and samples of the fresh and preserved foods they have grown or made to go into the lunchbox.
The judges will be a combination of local farmers, nutritionists and possibly celebrities. Every person entering will receive a certificate and there will be money prizes for the schools to go back into their gardens.
Behind the challenge is a serious issue. The average age of farmers in Australia is now 55 years old. With a growing and ageing population, there is a serious question of who is going to feed the next generation if they don’t learn to feed themselves.
The Lunchbox Challenge will take place this Friday (November 13) at Mullum Farmers Market, Mullumbimby Showgrounds, Main Arm Road at the Kiddies Plot behind the main shed from 830am to 1030am.
Entries are now closed but shoppers are invited to come and watch the challenge.
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