Pupils at Floreat Primary School got their hands dirty when they helped set up a vertically garden at the school.
Jade Orgil, a development practitioner and founder of NPO Sprightly Seed, started a food security project that uses a model to try and boost the offering available to pupils who are beneficiaries of nutritional programmes at schools.
The NPO collaborates with the Peninsula School Feeding Association, which feeds over 27 000 children every day across Cape Town.
For this project, Ms Orgil partnered with entrepreneur Sharn Jackson founder of the Gropro vertical garden, and donated vertical gardens that will produce high nutritional value vegetables such as spinach and Chinese cabbage. These vegetables will then be added to the menu of food served to the pupils.
The vertical food gardens are cost effective, water wise, easy to use and space saving. It also has an internal compartment for a worm farm that creates a nutrient-rich environment. No equipment or tools are needed to maintain the device.
Two Growpro devices were also donated to Sibelius High School in Steenberg and three schools in Kensington.
Ms Orgil said the aim of the organisation is to build sustainable nutritional programmes in schools.
“Meeting the immediate basic need of a child is critically important and we understand that without a nutritious meal they are at a set back. Malnutrition stunting is a real issue and many children come to school without having had something to eat.
“Traditional feeding schemes generally have dried goods so it is therefore critical to focus on what it is on that plate. Having fresh produce available is critical to boosting that nutritional impact,” said Ms Orgil.
Mr Jackson said the Gropro was about trying to shift people’s thinking to a greener perspective.
“It’s a good start to maintain a green lifestyle.
“I would love to see it in many homes and schools so that people can understand the joy of growing and eating their own grown food,” said Mr Jackson.
The organisation will engage with the school for a year and will train pupils and staff on how to maintain the gardens and plant more vegetables.