Li’l Sprouts Kids Club
The Drayton Valley Kids club started in 2015 with membership cards that kids used when they bought food at the market. They spend a minimum of $2 to get their card stamped or initialed by the vendor they bought from. There are 15 spaces on each card. When the person fills their card up and turns it in, they get $15 in market “buck” coupons to spend back at the market. Membership is FREE.
Why is this important?
It is building life skills the children will need. Shopping, money handing, speaking with strangers, making decisions for themselves, and inspiring good, healthy eating habits.
It builds self confidence and resiliency in children. If the food they want isn’t there that week, or they have to ask for it, or they have to wait for what they want. These are things that can happen that cause emotions the children are able to manage on small scales that build to handling larger problems and making harder choices.
It builds on the child’s sense of security and belonging to the community. When they come to market regularly and speak to favourite vendors, they get to be known outside of their home and school environments. This belonging outside of a family is important for children to make them feel safe in their communities.
This program was started with funding from the Drayton Valley & District FCSS and Telus Community Grant and has continued to be supported by vendors buying 50/50 tickets each week to give back to the program. The dollars raised go back into the pockets of the vendors through the market buck coupons.
