Helping children and young people understand food matters
During the Year of Food and Farming (September 2007 – July 2008) farmers across England opened their farm gates so children and young people could visit a farm to find out where their food comes from.
Around one million children and young people visited farms and places of food production throughout the Year, an increase from 680,000 in 2007 and around 1000 farmers are now trained to host visits.
The Year of Food and Farming opened the eyes of many pupils to where their food comes from. It has also demonstrated to schools the educational value of food and farming within the curriculum. According to research among 1619 pupils, commissioned by the Year of Food and Farming, learning about food and food production is of great interest and relevance to children of Primary school age (7- 10). Most know a great deal about where certain types of food come from, and how they can maintain a healthy diet. 93% of all 7-16 year olds claim to have altered their eating habits over the past year since the previous survey, with girls
more likely than boys to have made changes. These are just some of the research findings that form part of the evaluation of the Year of Food and Farming which you can download from the news section at
www.thinkfoodandfarming.org.uk
Think Food and Farming is the exciting legacy project, led by educational charity Farming and Countryside Education (FACE), which will build on the successes of the Year of Food and Farming. It will continue to promote healthy living by offering children and young people direct experience of the countryside, farming and food through growing and cooking activities, and visits to farms.
Think Food and Farming will signpost schools to curriculum linked activities for the opportunity for pupils to: • Find out how food is grown and produced
• Explore why food, and how we produce it, matters
• Make informed choices about food and healthy nutrition
• Discover what happens on a real-life farm
• Experience what the countryside can offer
• Learn more about environmental issues linked to food and the countryside
Over 4,500 enthusiastic farmers have now signed up in support of Think Food and Farming and many of them are welcoming pupils onto their farms. Dorrington Hall Farm in Cheshire hosted over 25 visits between September 2007 and July 2008, as they recognise the importance of educating the public, especially young people about the whole farming process. During Think Food and Farming they will continue to provide farm visits to schools that enable pupils to experience the abundant and diverse wildlife of the county and take part in activities linked to the National Curriculum.
You can read about other projects that have been developed by visiting the regional pages of the Think Food and Farming website at
www.thinkfoodandfarming.org.uk. Here you can also find out about farms to visits, resources and events linked to food, farming and the countryside.
Farming and Countryside Education (FACE)
18
www.arthurrankcentre.org.uk
food and faith
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