PHOTO OPPORTUNITY

Boston primary school pupils who have signed up for the Freshtime Fun Club will see how fresh vegetables are turned into meals and snacks when they visit a food factory this week.

Sixty year 2 pupils from Boston West Academy will visit Freshtime, the leading Boston-based snack salad and vegetable specialist, on Marsh Lane in Boston on the morning of Thursday 19^th June.

They will see a pasta making machine in action, explore the cab of a goods lorry and create a vegetable creature.

They will also learn how fresh produce is grown in the fields, brought to the factory, turned into products for supermarkets, pubs and hotels and transported out again – all in the space of 24 hours.

Morning activities will take place at Freshtime from 9.30am until 12.30pm.

In the afternoon older children in years 5 and 6 will take part in a Dragons’ Den style competition, pitching their healthy meal ideas to a panel including Freshtime’s Managing Director Mark Newton.

The winners will receive a prize and all the meal ideas will be included in a special recipe book to be produced by the Freshtime Fun Club at the end of the school year.

The Freshtime Fun Club is a new project launched last month to encourage healthy eating and teach Lincolnshire children about the food that’s grown on their doorstep.

Around 240 pupils at the school have been enrolled in the club as part of a whole term of vegetable-related activities.

Freshtime is providing the children with regular snack packs of fresh vegetables throughout this term and members of the Freshtime Fun Club have received balloons, bookmarks, badges and a monthly activity sheet.

The firm is also donating equipment for the school’s allotment and polytunnel and pupils are currently taking part in a competition to come up with the funniest veg-related joke.

“We’re going to have a lot of fun showing the children where their food comes from and how we make our meals and snacks,” said Mark Newton.

“We think it’s really important that young people understand the importance of nutrition and healthy eating and we’re looking forward to welcoming more schools to the Freshtime Fun Club next year.”

Emma Schofield, Outdoor Learning Leader at Boston West Academy, commented: “The children were really enthused by the launch of the Freshtime Fun Club at school last month and they’re very excited about visiting the factory.”

Freshtime employs around 350 people in Boston and supplies chilled, value added, ready-to-eat salads, snacks, prepared vegetables and deli fillers to leading multiple retailers and food service operators.

If you would like to attend any of the above events please email jez@weareshootingstar.co.uk or call 01522 528540. If you can’t attend but would like photos please let me know.

Notes to editors:

• Freshtime based in Boston, Lincolnshire was created in 1993 by farmer co-operative ELGRO (East Lincolnshire Growers). In 2000 there was a management-led buy-out.
• In recent years more than £14 million has been invested in Freshtime’s purpose-built 82,500 square feet site in Boston to develop the firm’s production capabilities.
• Freshtime produces over 170 different product lines, from stir fry vegetables to couscous and pasta salads, deli fillers, soups and dips.
• Freshtime was included in The Grocer’s Fast 50 list of growing food businesses in November 2012 and 2013.
• The Freshtime Fun Club was launched in May 2014 to provide new learning opportunities for Boston area school pupils and to teach them about food production, vegetables and salads.
• The pilot scheme is being run at Boston West Academy and Freshtime hopes to extend the scheme across more Boston area schools in 2014/15.
• For more information visit www.freshtime.co.uk

For media information contact:
Jez Ashberry
Shooting Star PR
01522 528540
07780 735071
jez@weareshootingstar.co.uk
@jezashberry
[freshtime14schoolvisit]