Farm visits give children food for thought

Dairy Farmers of Britain launched a new campaign to re-connect children with their food. The initiative will see children from inner city schools visiting member farms to learn more about food and farming.

At a time of increasing concern over the health of British children, Dairy Farmers of Britain's own research highlighted a worrying lack of understanding about food sourcing and farming1, the programme aims to reconnect children with the countryside and local food production.

The first children to benefit from the scheme were pupils at Oakgreen Primary School3 in Southcourt, Aylsebury, who spent this morning exploring Holly Green Dairy Farm4.

The initiative has been launched to support Dairy Farmers of Britain's Grass is Greener campaign, which focuses on drawing attention to the increasing lack of knowledge and understanding amongst children about the relationship between food and farming. Looking at the level of children's awareness of food, Dairy Farmers of Britain's research1 among UK children has revealed:

11 per cent of eight year olds don't know where pork chops come from 18 per cent of eight year olds have no idea where yoghurt comes from City children are twice as likely as countryside kids to be unable to identify that beef burgers come from cows (8% compared to 3%)

More than one in two children aged eight to 15 (56%) would rather live in the countryside than a city.

Dairy Farmers of Britain are working with the independent education charity FACE2 to partner inner-city and urban schools with Dairy Farmers of Britain farmers. During the visits children will be able to experience first hand the process of dairy production, enjoy the open space of the countryside and try dairy products made on the farm.

Philip Gibson, Head of Corporate Affairs at Dairy Farmers of Britain commented: "We are delighted to be working with FACE to enable children from inner city areas to visit our farms to learn more about food and farming. Dairy Farmers of Britain are committed to making good food accessible to everyone, and educating children in food production is key to securing the future of dairy farming."

Janet Hickinbottom, Education Officer at FACE commented: "FACE is dedicated to educating people about food, farming and the countryside. Working with Dairy Farmers of Britain will allow us to give children from disadvantaged backgrounds an insight into farming and food production, which they would not get as part of day to day schooling. By educating people in the importance of farming we hope to preserve the British countryside for future generations."

Karen Colinswood, Assistant Head Teacher of Oakgreen Primary School commented: "Many of the children at Oakgreen Primary School have never visited a farm before. This is a great opportunity to build children's appreciation and understanding of their food, as well as give them an enjoyable day out in the countryside."