Students on Skills for Life and Work courses at SERC Newtownards Campus are set to benefit from new resources which will also help to tackle food poverty in the surrounding area. Power NI’s Brighter Communities programme is supporting the SERC Food Poverty Project, through which SEND (Special Educational Needs and Disabilities) students will develop horticulture skills, growing vegetables which will be then transformed by SERC culinary arts students into nutritious frozen meals for people in the Ards Peninsula community who rely on food banks.
A grant of £1000 from the Power NI Brighter Communities fund will help to provide essential resources including polytunnels, soil, seeds, seed trays and gardening tools, enabling the students to grow fresh vegetables in a supportive learning environment. This will support them in developing new skills and increased confidence, as they gain hands-on experience at every stage of the growing process. Students across horticulture and hospitality courses will learn the value of teamwork, responsibility and social involvement while making a direct and positive contribution to their local community.
Paul Mercer, SERC Principal Lecturer and Commercial Hospitality Manager, commented,
"We are delighted to have been selected as the August winner of the Power NI Brighter Communities Fund. This generous support will be instrumental in helping us expand our Food Poverty Project, enabling us to involve more students and reach more families, providing even greater opportunities for the college to make a positive impact in the community.
“The initiative highlights the transformative potential of partnership working and showcases how young people with SEND can play a leading role in addressing community challenges when given the right opportunities and support.”
Power NI's Brighter Communities programme supports community organisations right across Northern Ireland that are improving wellbeing, strengthening connections and helping local communities to thrive.
In the picture (l-r)
Ken Scott, director of Bangor Community Food Bank, SERC students Nicole Dunlop and Billie Johnston, Paul Mercer, Principal Lecturer and Commercial Hospitality Manager, Sarah Gillen, Lecturer in Foundation Skills, and Barbara McNeill, SERC Newtownards Campus Manager, celebrate a grant of £1000 from Power NI Brighter Communities Fund which will support SERC’s Food Poverty Project.
