Marcel Grosbusch & Fils has developed “Grosbusch Kids”, a project intended to raise a young audience’s awareness about the world of fruit and vegetables, nutrition and environmental responsibility.
School classes from cycles 2 to 4 of primary school are invited to discover these worlds on the firm’s premises. The company will also address adult groups by launching the “Grosbusch Academy”, a programme offering professional training in the various trades involved in the fruit and vegetable sector. All of these new educational spaces, including a section dedicated to urban agriculture, are located at the new Ellange site and open to the general public.
Inform children about the world of fruits and vegetables
The first space is dedicated to the “Grosbusch Kids” project and includes interactive stations intended for those aged 7-12. In the context of two-hour visits, the children will have the opportunity to participate in theoretical, practical and fun activities lead by experts of the company. “We help them to learn more about the fruits they find in shops or on their plates, to know when they are ripe, to recognise a persimmon by smelling, tasting and touching it, and even to prepare a fruit skewer to take home with them,” explains Lynn Grosbusch, who heads the project.
“Grosbusch Kids” is also an opportunity for the company to tell more about its sector, the various trades involved and to educate children in the hope that they pass the message on to their parents. “We discuss the seasonal nature of the fruit and the importance of local production by taking the children to our fruit orchards, just next door, or to our urban agriculture section with its herbs and salads, set up within our new premises,” continues Grosbusch, “But we also explain how a company like ours is able to offer certain products out of season while still remaining committed to local production.”
First tested last May with 350 children from school classes from the municipalities of Dudelange, Rumelange and Rambrouch, the “Grosbusch Kids” programme has already had great success. To increase children’s interest even further, an official mascot will soon provide a friendly face for the initiative, while a dedicated website will go online in early 2017 to serve as a point of contact for organising visits.
And, who knows, maybe in a few years’ time some of those who discovered a passion for fruit during one of these school visits will find themselves amongst the employees of the company or at the “Grosbusch Academy”, its second new project.
Providing professional training for the fruit and vegetable industry
Intended to train “sommeliers” specialised in fruits and vegetables, the “Grosbusch Academy” will be housed in the new Ellange warehouse as well. An amphitheatre with 50 seats, a kitchen workshop and space for practical work will welcome people already working in the industry just like those with an interest in joining it. “We would like to support the professionalisation of our industry by working with the Chamber of Commerce to possibly issue a certificate, and we further hope to cooperate with the ADEM in order to generate vocations,” explains Goy Grosbusch.
The “Grosbusch Academy” programme includes, for example, training centred on products, client advice, warehouse work and displaying products to best effect. Plans include a season-based schedule as well as one based on the different trades involved in the industry. A partnership agreement has been signed with the “Centre Technique Interprofessionnel des Fruits et Légumes ” (CTIFL), a French organisation specialised in technical support for the fruit and vegetable industry, but Goy Grosbusch also plans to involve the producers themselves. “They will come and present their products, explain the different varieties available on the market and describe their differences.” In addition to that, a chef will prepare recipes to make the trainees discover every aspect of the fruit or vegetable in question.
Exemplifying the innovation that has become a trademark of the Grosbusch family, the ambition of the “Grosbusch Academy” is to become a meeting place for passionate individuals and a catalyst for increased professionalism in the fruit and vegetable industry.
