Food for Life Partnership

• 800,000 school pupils in England to ‘grow their
• Apr - Jun 2009
• Jan - Mar 2009
• Oct - Dec 2008

800,000 school pupils in England to ‘grow their own’ by 2011

October 2009

Over 806,000* youngsters aged 4-16 in England are set to learn vital lessons about food through ‘growing their own’ thanks to a brand new resource for schools, produced by the UK’s leading organic growing charity as part of its work with the Food for Life Partnership.

In the next two years, The Food Growing Manual, written by Garden Organic and funded by the Big Lottery, will help 3,600 schools and just under a million pupils, expand their gardening activities into growing food. The newly devised, free resource for infant, primary and secondary schools forms a major part of a project already transforming school food culture - the Food for Life Partnership (FFLP).

Landing with schools in every region of England signed up to the Partnership, the Food Growing Manual uses practical activities to teach pupils about sowing, growing, nurturing and harvesting their own fruit and veg, helping them gain an appreciation of the full lifecycle of food. It is hoped that this fantastic new resource will inspire more schools to take part in the groundbreaking project.

The resource, which comprises 100 growing instruction cards for fruit, veg, edible flowers, herbs and green manures, six activity posters exploring edible plant parts, seeds, harvesting, making compost, and pests and diseases, accompanied by a DVD and guidance manual, will enable schools to successfully develop their own gardens and produce edible crops for children, parents and teachers to enjoy.

Head of Education and Food for Life Partnership Manager at Garden Organic, Colette Bond, said, “Teaching children to grow food puts them in touch with the land, familiarises them with the seasons and encourages healthier eating. On a wider level it also engages them with the food supply and helps them understand that food isn’t instant or ‘fast’ but that it takes time, energy and nurture to produce something edible.”

“The ‘grow your own’ revolution of recent years has led to many more schools developing their grounds into allotments and veg plots and tying this activity in with curriculum targets. However making this a success can be difficult without the right information and resources, which is why we developed The Food Growing Manual based on the experiences of our Garden Education Officers, who already assist schools with developing their gardens through the Food for Life Partnership. ”

“Not every school can benefit from the hands on support of a gardening expert but this resource will give 3,600 schools the answers to inevitable questions by covering everything from what to sow, to how to deal with pests and diseases, to when to harvest produce.”

One school that is looking forward to using the new resource is Nettleton Community Primary School near Market Rasen, Lincolnshire. School Garden Leader, Francesca Williams said, “Our gardening club is very new, and although we have lots of enthusiasm, the one thing we lack is expertise. The arrival of the Food Growing Manual comes at a fantastic time for us, as it covers just about everything we need to get the school garden started.”

“Using the expert content of the manual, as well as the suggested activities and planting advice, we hope to develop a successful school garden, which will help the children to learn about growing their own food and eating seasonally. We also hope to use the garden to teach the curriculum and to reach out and involve everyone from staff and pupils right through to parents and the community.”

And it is this outcome that Garden Organic hopes will encourage more people to enrol on the Partnership. Colette Bond said, “The Food for Life Partnership is all about a holistic approach to food education, which not only targets young people, but also parents, teachers, school cooks and communities. Garden Organic’s role in this is to provide practical guidance and support to get children growing, and the additional work of the partners: the Soil Association, the Heath Education Trust and Focus on Food, provide the experiences for children to harvest, prepare and cook their own food and visit farms. Through this rounded approach we firmly believe that we can help create a healthier, more knowledgeable generation armed with the skills needed to feed it in the future.”

The Food for Life Partnership, led by the Soil Association, aims to reconnect young people with growing, cooking, eating and appreciating climate-friendly, healthy and real food. Many schools on the Partnership are now using produce they have grown in their canteens, helping to make fresh, seasonal, organic produce a regular appearance on school dinner menus.

From now on, all schools signed up to the Food for Life Partnership will receive their own Food Growing Manual resource pack for free. To find out more or to enrol visit www.foodforlife.org.uk

*806, 000 - Figure based on the average sized primary school 2006 as detailed in The Primary Review, The Structure of Primary Education: England and other countries, by Anna Riggall and Caroline Sharp, National Foundation for Educational Research. The Food for Life Partnership estimates that the actual number of children that will come into contact with food growing activities, through receipt of the manual, will be higher than the 806,400* quoted as this figure does not include average secondary school population numbers.

The Food Growing Manual resource pack comprises: 100, waterproof, growing instruction cards in file box with key cards and glossary cards. Six Activity posters covering: Edible plant parts, Seeds and young plants, Harvesting and storing, Making compost, Pest and diseases, Food growing year. DVD with printable versions of all growing cards. How to Manual.