Supermarket serves up a Fairtrade lesson

PUPILS swapped their usual timetable for smoothie making and exotic fruit eating, as part of a new partnership with a supermarket chain.

More than 100 secondary-aged youngsters at Meadowfield in Sittingbourne had a day off from their lessons when Morrisons staff visited to help with a Fairtrade Day earlier this month.

They were joined by students from Queen Elizabeth’s Grammar School in Faversham, who helped as part of their community outreach work.

Five supermarket employees brought in fruit and other products to use in Fairtrade-related workshops, including the art of batik – decorating cloth using wax and dye.

Meadowfield principal Philip Rankin said: “Our pupils are fortunate to be the beneficiaries of such a new and exciting initiative. Everywhere I went around the school, there was a mouth-watering aroma of freshly sliced fruit.”

Karl Wright, on behalf of Morrisons, which has a distribution centre at Kemsley and plans to build a new store on the former paper mill site in Sittingbourne, said staff had a fantastic day. “This is part of our commitment to working in the community,” he added.

Head of Meadowfield’s secondary department Janet Rankin said: “Pupils gain a lot from focus days such as these, especially in this case when Morrisons has not only donated fruit and chocolate for the workshops, but also given up staff time to support us on the day.”

Find out more about Fairtrade by visiting www.fairtrade.org.uk