Give children the opportunity to experience jobs they wouldn't normally get to do.

In May 2023, Zensho Kagayaki Children's Foundation ^* conducted a rice planting experience for children living in children's homes.

* Zensho Kagayaki Children's Foundation is a general incorporated foundation established with the aim of supporting children living under social care so that they can choose a career path that suits their abilities and aptitudes, and dedicate themselves to their studies with enthusiasm, without being hindered from further education or participation in society due to economic reasons, and to contribute to the healthy character development of these children.

The purpose of this activity is to give children an opportunity to think about their future careers, jobs, and lives by giving them experience working in the food industry at Zensho.

The Joyfoods Joy Foods Namiki store, a supermarket operated by Zensho Group, has a rice paddy on its premises with the aim of contributing to the local community through food education. This time, 13 elementary school students from the facility were invited to the store to participate in rice planting, experience working at a food supermarket, and take a tour.

The day was blessed with fine weather, making it a perfect day for rice planting. The children learned about the process of how rice is grown from a picture story show presented by Zensho employee, and then headed to the rice paddy.
Carefully checking their footing in the muddy ground, they plant each rice seedling one by one, following the marker ropes.

After the rice planting experience, everyone put on matching aprons and headed into Joy Foods store.
We enjoyed experiencing jobs we wouldn't normally get to do at school, such as operating a cash register and cutting fruit.

What particularly captivated the children was the tuna cutting demonstration held in the seafood section.
When the tuna's head was cut off, the children who were watching from nearby let out a cheer of "Wow!"

Children who participated shared comments such as, "It was fun planting rice seedlings for the first time, even though it was hard to walk in the mud," and "It was the first time I'd seen a big fish being cut up."

An employee of Joy Foods commented, "This was a great opportunity for children to experience the importance of food from a young age. We hope that they will be able to make use of what they have learned when they grow up."

Zensho Kagayaki Children's Foundation will continue to engage in activities that contribute to the future of children.