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.