The Scottish Government

Get them young

Monday, September 24, 2007

Linda Brackenbury says: Schools should be looking back to practices of post war years, when good local produce was widely available, if not in quantity then at least in quality and used in school kitchens, children should be taught of where their food comes from and school cookery lessons should be made to be a compulsory part of the curriculum for boys as well as girls. As well as practical lessons, there should be lessons in nutrition and as to what the body needs to survive as opposed to what the body craves. Junk food out, good nutritious food in.

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Comments

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• 17. Moderator -

  Friday, May 2, 2008 10:07

  This blog is now closed to further comments.

• 16. Sorcha. Argyll - Argyll

  Thursday, April 24, 2008 17:29

  I was once privileged to share my experiences of rural life with inner city children from Glasgow who spent 5 days at a residential education centre in Argyll.The most frequently asked question initially was "are we still in Scotland?" How sad that in their short young lives (P6,7)they only had experience of the urban conurbation! To milk a cow, plant seeds, pull potatoes etc. was a huge learning curve at an age when absorption of knowledge is at its peak. Shame on Glasgow city council for allowing the closure of such a facility!

• 15. Alan Brown - Newton Stewart

  Sunday, April 13, 2008 07:27

  If you want kids to eat more veg you have to get more flavour into them and you don't get this just by growing local although it is part of the solution.There needs to be a review and a much closer look at how we are producing our food for our kids today.Large scale allotments around towns and cities where the long term unemployed could help to grow remineralized organic vegetables for supply to schools and each school could get involved with the production of some of its food.Compost could be used from the local waste to help establish these gardens.We really need to push the boat out on this one and get it working.....

• 14. Rebecca - Edinburgh

  Thursday, April 10, 2008 09:48

  Linda Brackenbury argues it is important for Schools to look at how children where taught in the “post war year” and to make them aware of where their food comes from and try to source as much local food as possible. Over the years the food education that children receive has diminished with home economics now thought of as an easy lesson with not much significance whilst it should be about teaching children about the importance of food, where it comes from and how it should be prepared. It can be argued that the diet of children over the decades since the war has decreased dramatically with parents becoming money rich and time poor more children are eating convenience foods, takeaways and going out for fast food meals on a regular basis rather than parents cooking fresh, healthy home cooked meals. This change in diet has had a major impact on the health of children with many children now overweight and some even obese. Why is it that we are allowing children’s health to suffer when we could be teaching them about the importance of good, local food and how to prepare it and why a health balanced diet is so important?

• 13. Clare - fife

  Wednesday, March 26, 2008 15:58

  I have a fundemental problem with offering a five year old healthy choices, what kind of lunatic offers a five year old unhealthy choices? My childs school offers macaroni cheese and chips as a lunch option. This to me sums things up, no vegetables at all, Lets not even start on the transfats and mechanically stripped meat for the burgers. Ill stick to the organic locally sourced packed lunches I provide for the same cost as school meals. Therein lies the problem!!!!

• 12. Lindsay Graham - Highlands

  Thursday, March 20, 2008 17:03

  Penelope good to see your post.'Planting to Plate' is one of the most innovative growing projects involving young people I think I have ever seen.
  Well done to all involved in it, particularly the pupils.
  
  Having travelled the length and breadth of the UK seeing innovation and good practice,sampling school food talking to pupils, parents, governors, teachers, cooks, Janitors,school nurses,deitians,oral hygienists,GPs,health promotion specialists, educationalist,strategist, producers, providers, politicians and press for the last few years. I can honestly say that todays school food is a vast improvement to what was being served in canteens ten years ago. Our next generations palate has been tainted by societal change. It will take the policy makers of tomorrow steely nerves and tenacity to maintain belief that (according to the NCP ticket machine)'Change is possible'. It will also take huge investment in Education and joined up practice just such as planting to plate was.
  
  The Scotland is a nation of innovators and grafters and as far as school food goes it (in my humble opinion) has shown sense in its 'Hungry for Success' school food transformation policy. However there needs to be more spent to reap the rewards of true change to fight the health inequalities in this country.
  
  I would pay tribute to all those involved in the procurement,provision,and promotion of school food. To me they are the true heros that will hopefully help to save the NHS a fortune on obesity related illness in the future. This can only be done with involvement of the families and surrounding communities and its starting to happen in Scotland.Lets have more investment please in school food and parental involvement.
  
  Im delighted to see the first minister pledging to eat 'Scottish' for a week. I'd be interested to know why only a week? Why not a year? Why not every MSP pledge a 'week'? If the food in school canteens has changed for the pupils then it should change in parliment for the politicians as well.
  
  I agree with you Penelope, giving more children opportunities like Planting to Plate is a good place to start and thats why school food has never before been such an important driver in cultural change.We should be doing more to tackle competition for school canteens. Get tough on fast food outlets! (We banned smoking in public places, why cant we ban burger vans from outside school gates?)
  
  
  
  
  
  Sometimes we have to look back to look forward to see we are going in the right direction. The school food of the past is fast become the school food of the future and I think thats great!

• 11. Penelope Hamilton - Highlands

  Wednesday, March 12, 2008 09:14

  It's not just city children who lack knowledge of where food comes from, how it's produced, and the pleasures of eating food that they've helped to grow. For reasons already touched on by other contributors, many rural children are in this position as well.
  
  How, in these times of general anxiety about the future of food production and about ill-health and obesity, are we to help children become discerning consumers, taking pleasure in fresh, locally grown healthy food - and perhaps become growers of their own food - or even horticulturalists, farmers and crofters, producing good food to sell to folk in and outwith their own communities?
  
  I'm involved in 'Planting to Plate', a project bringing schoolchildren and their local crofters together so that children can have hands-on experience of growing food and also learn about their heritage and the culture associated with food. The pilot project in 2007, involving 4 schools in remote rural areas of the Highlands & Islands, was a resounding success, and above all the children (ranging in age from 5 to 14) and their teachers told us they'd had fun and enjoyed eating the fruits of their labours. They are full of ideas for the 2008 growing year.
  
  There are other equally good small projects happening out there - and these need to be supported, not just by such wonderful folk as described by Angus at comment 4, but with local and central government funding to expand them and give more children the opportunities so far given only to few.
  
  Our current government, especially the Ministers for 3 of its Directorates, have expressed commitment to local food production and consumption - let's see it happen!
  
  

• 10. penny - edinburgh

  Friday, February 22, 2008 14:01

  I remember when I was very little going on school trips to a dairy farm, and also (it was a while ago!) to either a small holdings or nursery, as well as feeding lambs brought in to nursery school. I lived in a rural community, fair enough, but these experiences helped me understand the difference between simple, healthy 'natural' foods connected to their origins and processed foods whose origins are less easy to appreciate and therefore to be treated with a little more suspicion!
  
  I currently work in the city, and with kids and teenagers from the local community, and am fairly frightened at the lack of knowledge some of these kids display as to the origins of the food they eat - being taken aback at the idea that milk comes out of cows, for example. I'm sure that this may be unusual in the main, but it may be indicative of a worrying trend? Understanding the basics of the life cycle of the food we eat has surely got to be a good place to begin educating kids about healthy eating and good living, as well teaching cooking in schools.

• 9. Daye Tucker - Balfron

  Friday, February 22, 2008 12:04

  A common barrier to innovation and good practice is the local authority through its interpretation of rules and regs. You now have in place Parent Councils, a legal body and a powerful voice. Be strong, be determined but always be polite!

• 8. F Hamilton - Argyll

  Thursday, February 21, 2008 20:31

  Children are more willing to try different food if they really understand how it's got to their plates. Many schools are now growing their own fruit and veg, however some authorities don't allow it to be used in school meals for health & safety reasons (might be dirty, for goodness sake!!) What message is that sending? If children have grown it, they'll want to eat it. They'll love using it themselves to cook with. Local Authorities/Health & Safety Exec have a responsibility to make it possible for this to happen.

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