Mercabarna opens summer camp for vulnerable kids

Mercabarna has kicked off its ‘Refresh yourself with 5 a day’ summer camp for children from vulnerable families, an initiative it has been organising since 2016.

From now until the end of July, around 600 children from Barcelona and the surrounding area will be provided with top-quality activities, which encourage healthy eating through workshops and games.

Upon arrival at the wholesale market the children will receive a healthy breakfast accompanied of natural fruit, while hearing why it is important to eat five servings of fruits and vegetables a day to stay healthy. This message will be reinforced throughout the day via different activities.

During the day, the children – aged between six and 13 – will visit the Central Fruit and Vegetable Market, where they are shown local, seasonal products and even some exotics they may never have seen before.

The camp will also hold games and workshops, such as the ‘Find out the fruit’ tasting. At the end of the day, the children will receive the ‘5 a day’ bags, with more games to continue discovering that healthy and balanced eating can be fun when they return home.

Mercabarna has been part of the ‘5 a day’ campaign, carried out in association with the Association of Fruit and Vegetable Wholesalers, since 1999. The initiative’s main objective is to promote healthy eating habits and to publicise the benefits of the Mediterranean diet among children, as well as among their families. Throughout these 24 years, some 150,000 boys and girls have participated in the ‘5 a day’ programme.