School children follow their food from field to fork

25/06/2008

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Jersey Dairy will be providing school children, aged eight and nine, with the chance to learn about where their food comes from and how to eat healthily.

 

The Food and Farming Matters sessions will be taught by an experienced teacher and will be available for free for all primary school children in Year 4 Key Stage 2. The aim is to support the curriculum by teaching children about the importance of farming to Jersey’s environment and heritage, as well as how to eat a balanced diet. Jersey Dairy will also be providing transport to and from schools.

 

The sessions will be split into five sections:

• food and healthy eating;
• understanding where our food comes from;
• meeting a Jersey cow and learning about dairy farming;
• recognising how food is processed;
• learning how Jersey produce fits into world-wide food production.

 

The scheme has been endorsed by both the Health and Social Services and the Education, Sport and Culture departments and will all take place at Hamptonne Country Life Museum.

 

Karen Le Cornu, Health Promotion Officer for the Jersey Health Promotion Unit, said: “Providing children with opportunities to learn more about where food comes from and how it contributes to a healthy, balanced diet is a key aspect of the Healthy Schools Programme.

 

“This project, with its interactive materials and off-site location, will offer a unique approach and support the healthy eating messages children are learning in the classroom. Our agricultural industry is central to our culture, heritage and environment and our pupils will play a role in protecting it for the future.”

 

Cliff Chipperfield, Head of Evaluation & Standards for the Education Sport and Culture Department, said: “This project supports the healthy eating agenda which is a key focus of our schools and we are grateful to Jersey Dairy for offering this resource.

 

“It is really important for Jersey pupils to know that a significant part of our culture, heritage and environment is based around and upon the agricultural industry, as well as understanding the origins of the food they consume.

 

“We hope that the students will become more knowledgeable and healthier citizens who may decide in the future to grow their own produce.”

 

The Food and Farming classes will take place at Hamptonne Country Life Museum and will run from 9.30am until 1.00pm with the opportunity to have lunch at the centre. A school will be selected to participate in the pilot and then the scheme will be open to all primary schools in the Island in the autumn.

 

Eamon Fenlon, Managing Director of Jersey Dairy, said: “It’s a sad fact of modern life that many young people are growing up with little knowledge about the origin of the food they eat. Too many think milk just comes in a carton and not from an animal. We have got to recognise that our children must be made aware of the important role they will play in safeguarding the countryside for future generations and supporting a sustainable agricultural economy. We hope these classes will go some way to helping schools press home the link between food and health, and farming and our environment.”
Primary schools requiring further information or would like to sign up for a place, please contact Mrs Valerie Nibbs 856550.