Celebrity farmer Adam Henson has launched a UK-wide campaign encouraging nurseries and schools to adopt measures to ensure children know where the food on their plate has come from.
The BBC Countryfile presenter and Cotswolds farmer’s #FEEDMETRUTH campaign will offer nurseries and state primary and secondary schools a way to show the journey of every plate of food they serve children.
“The appreciation and understanding of food starts with children simply knowing how and where the ingredients on their plate were produced, but many don’t,” said Mr Henson.
“Every school dinner has a story to tell – a journey. It leaves a footprint. We need every child to explore it and be inspired and learn from it.”
Technology from farmer-founded food provenance organisation, Happerley, will be made available in school dining rooms to show where the ingredients in school meals have come from.
Happerley founder, Matthew Rymer, said the food industry remained one of the least transparent and consumers are not told the origins of most of the ingredients in their food.
He added: “Children are particularly susceptible to buying into brands and clever marketing because they do not know or understand better.
“By working through the food chain to deliver the full story of the ingredients that make their school dinners, our hope is we can create a seismic change in understanding for the future that impacts positively on their health and nutrition, the environment and sustainable food production.”
National nursery group Co-operative Childcare has signed up to the campaign in a bid to create complete transparency in its food supply chain.
The group’s chief operating officer, Sally Bonnar, said: “We are taking a lead in investing in children’s health, nutrition and wellbeing.
“From nourished tummies to curious minds, we are working to deliver a big difference to our little ones, parents and communities.
“Our belief is that making educated choices on food and nutrition starts in the nursery and we are the pioneers to do this at a national level.”
Details of the campaign, alongside a petition which can be signed, can be found online by visiting
http://chng.it/tWptvkpS