Children's Food Campaign welcomes school food-growing Task Force

Responding to Environment Secretary Caroline Spelman’s announcement yesterday of the Food Growing in Schools Task Force, set up in the response to the recommendations of a report co-authored by the Children’s Food Campaign, Coordinator Jackie Schneider said:

“It’s great to see that Defra have taken on board the recommendations of our report in supporting this Task Force. We look forward to contributing to the group, and hope that it will result in concrete action to ensure that ever child is able to experience food growing as part of their education.”

The Children’s Food Campaign was instrumental in instigating a group of gardening and educational charities concerned with promoting food-growing to children, which resulted in the publication of Every school a food-growing school last year. The report highlights the diverse benefits of food-growing activities for children.

ENDS

For further information and interviews, please contact Christine Haigh on 0203 5596 777 or 07870 577934 or christine@sustainweb.org.

Notes to editors 

1) The Children's Food Campaign wants to improve children's health and well-being through better food - and food teaching - in schools, and protecting children from junk food marketing. We are supported by over 150 national organisations. The Children's Food Campaign is coordinated by Sustain: the alliance for better food and farming and funded by the British Heart Foundation. For more information, see http://www.childrensfoodcampaign.org.uk/.

2) The report Every school a food-growing school was published in November 2010 and was complied by the Academy of Culinary Arts Chefs Adopt a School Trust, Children’s Food Campaign, Farming and Countryside Education, Farms for City Children, Federation of City Farms and Community Gardens, Food for Life Partnership, Foodshare, Garden Organic, Good Gardeners Association, Organic Research Centre, Royal Horticultural Society and School Food Matters. The report is available to download at https://www.sustainweb.org/childrensfoodcampaign/food_growing_in_schools/.

3) Details of the new Task Force and the Environment Secretary's announcement are available at http://www.defra.gov.uk/news/2011/05/23/veg-out-in-school/ .