Lidl Farm welcomed 4,228 primary school students this year as part of its Farm-to-Fork Experience located at Lidl’s Newbridge Regional Distribution Centre, a unique, free educational programme developed by Agri Aware and Lidl. As the programme enters its third year, the Lidl Farm is focused on growing its reach, while continuing to grow fresh fruits and vegetables at its site in Newbridge, County Kildare, which has been operating since October 2022.
The Lidl Farm experience gives students the opportunity to learn more about how food gets from farm to fork and with 96% of students that visited the Lidl Farm this year being from non-farming backgrounds, there is huge opportunity with this bespoke educational experience. Students from all over the country, ranging from Dublin and Kildare to Galway, Cavan, and Tipperary travelled to visit the Lidl Farm.
The Farm to Fork Experience begins in the classroom and continues outside, where students explore polytunnels to learn how fruits and vegetables grow, meet sheep and cattle and learn about their care and what they produce. They then take a ride on the Lidl Farm train to the Lidl Regional Distribution Centre for a behind-the-scenes look at how food is packaged, transported, and delivered to stores across Ireland.
Targeted at primary school students from 1st to 6th class, Lidl Farm is offering school tours this autumn from September to November. School tours at The Lidl Farm are completely free, with schools only needing to cover their transport costs. Pupils learn through a combination of hands-on activities and discussions led by Agri Aware’s Education Officers.
Tours will resume from September 1st, and primary schools are encouraged to book early to take advantage of this free, hands-on learning experience.
Speaking on another successful year at Lidl Farm, Agri Aware Chairman Shay Galvin said: “We’re proud to mark another fantastic year at Lidl Farm. I would strongly encourage any school interested in learning more about how food is grown, packaged, and distributed to take advantage of this free educational experience.
As the official education partner of Lidl Farm, Agri Aware is delighted to continue supporting the programme through interactive sessions and hands-on activities delivered by our dedicated Education Officers.”
Also speaking on the success of the year was Christine McIntyre, Senior Partnerships & Events Manager, Lidl Ireland & Northern Ireland “We’re incredibly proud to see nearly 10,000 students experience The Lidl Farm since we launched our free primary school tours in 2022. When establishing the Lidl Farm, our goal was to make learning about food, farming, and sustainability accessible to all.
The Lidl Farm is a hands-on, curriculum-linked experience that brings the journey of food to life in a fun and engaging way. We’re delighted to continue our partnership with Agri Aware and look forward to welcoming even more schools to Newbridge this autumn.”
Bookings for Autumn 2025 tours are now open via the link Lidl Farm Tour Bookings. Teachers can visit https://agriaware.ie/lidl-farm-to-fork/https://agriaware.ie/ for more information.
