Solas Chríost announced as national winners in Let’s Grow initiative

A SCHOOL has been announced as the national winners of the Grow it Yourself and SuperValu Let’s GROW initiative after demonstrating how they learned about food through gardening.

Solas Chríost in Tallaght ended their school term with a bang when they were announced as the winners of the 2023 SuperValu Let’s Grow initiative.

Launched in Spring, some 50,000 pupils from all across Ireland took part in the programme, learning how to grow their own food right in their classrooms.

Rolled out by Grow it Yourself (GIY), the project aims to educate and enable a movement of good growers, whose actions can help build a sustainable food system.

Solas Chríost, along with other schools participating in the project, received everything they needed to grow their own vegetables through SuperValu Let’s GROW initiative.

This included packs of seeds, compost discs and pots for growing, and teachers received resource packs to help them link lessons and activities to the project.

Solas Chríost National School pupils, Sarah Sherlock, Sophia Boyne and Louis Neville just before the doors closed for the summer break

Teacher in Solas Chríost, Alan McDonnell said: “We were delighted to take part in the SuperValu Let’s GROW campaign and we are even more delighted to win.

“From the minute they opened the box, the students were so excited about learning how to grow their own food.

“They loved the opportunity to get their hands into the soil and when they saw food growing as a result of their efforts they were hooked.

“The SuperValu Let’s GROW campaign is a wonderful opportunity for children to learn a new skill, interact with each other and their teachers in a new way, and learn all about the food system.”

Meanwhile, local business owner Alan Jordan, who runs SuperValu Fortunestown, spoke of his delight with supporting the nearby school.

“Supporting local and Irish food growers is a key pillar of SuperValu’s identity and I’m thrilled to see the dedication that has been shown in our community by the children at Solas Chríost,” Alan said.

“At SuperValu Fortunestown, we’ll do everything we can to continue the momentum, and foster a lifelong passion for, and interest in, food in the community.”

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