London school kids to take over Borough Market for winter soup sale
Young Londoners aged 11–16 will step into the role of market traders for the day as the Young Marketeers Winter Soup Sale returns to Borough Market this February.
Secondary school pupils from across London will be taking over Borough Market next month, swapping classrooms for chopping boards as they serve up homemade soup and fresh bread to hungry lunchtime crowds.
The Young Marketeers Winter Soup Sale returns to the capital on Tuesday, February 3, with pupils aged 11 to 16 running their own market stalls in Borough Market’s Green Market from 12pm to 2pm.
For one day only, the young Londoners will be trading alongside professional market sellers, raising money for Plan Zheroes, a London-based charity that redistributes quality surplus food to organisations supporting vulnerable communities across the capital.
In the run-up to the event, pupils have been busy honing their skills. They attended a hands-on training day at Bread Ahead, learning how to bake ciabatta with expert bakers, while also developing warming soup recipes with School Food Matters.
Working closely with the Borough Market team, they’ve learned everything from pricing and food prep to teamwork and customer service, all skills they’ll put straight into practice on the day.
All proceeds from the soup sale will be donated to Plan Zheroes, helping the charity continue its vital work tackling food waste and food poverty across London.
What is the Winter Soup Sale?
The Winter Soup Sale forms part of the long-running Young Marketeers programme, a partnership between Borough Market and School Food Matters that gives pupils real-world experience of growing, cooking and selling food. The initiative aims to build confidence, encourage seasonal eating and highlight the importance of reducing food waste through hands-on learning.
As a charitable trust, Borough Market places education and community at the heart of what it does, using food as a way to connect young Londoners with where their meals come from and how markets work.
In keeping with the Market’s sustainability values, soup will be served in compostable containers, with no single-use plastic cutlery available.
The event also builds on Borough Market’s decade-long partnership with Plan Zheroes. Since summer 2024 alone, Young Marketeers sales have supported the charity’s work redistributing surplus food, with the wider partnership having saved more than 150 tonnes of food from landfill, the equivalent of over 360,000 meals.
The Young Marketeers Winter Soup Sale takes place on Tuesday 3 February, from 12pm to 2pm, at Borough Market’s Green Market, London SE1.