NATIONAL FEDERATION OF YOUNG FARMERS' CLUBS
"Fun, Learning, and Achievement"
Food and Farming Newsletter - November 2007
Regional news
Exciting new resources
Growing activities
Cooking activities
Farm visits
Welcome to the first Year of Food and Farming e-newsletter of 2008 keeping you up to date with the latest news as the Year progresses!
Regional news
London
School Food Matters - a new campaign group was launched in December with the ambitious goal of ensuring that EVERY school in Richmond and Kingston is fitted with a proper kitchen capable of preparing the best quality local food. It is hoped that this will help children eat fresh, healthy food, learn how to cook it and understand where it comes from. For more information visit www.schoolfoodmatters.com .New grant scheme for London sustainable food events - the £70,000 small grant scheme will provide an essential boost for organisations in London, to help them increase public awareness of sustainable food. Grants from £500 to £5000 will be available for a wide range of sustainable food events from helping restaurateurs to buy local organic produce to showcasing sustainable food at community events ( www.sustainweb.org/smallgrants/ ).
North East
A Year of Food and Farming Stakeholders Event is being held on 4th February in Newcastle with the general themes of best practice, partnership and collaboration. Three workshops are also being held at the event to inspire future activity and develop project proposals. For further information please contact Deborah Hall at yoff.northeast@defra.gsi.gov.uk . A 2 day CEVAS training course is planned for the Blagdon Estate on 31st January and 7th February, contact ian@farmgarden.org.uk for details.North West
Defra minster, Lord Rooker visited Cumbria on a two day visit in early December. On the second day he attended an activity day developed for local school in Carlisle. The event consisted of eight stations around the farm with different information and learning opportunities at each. Highlights of the day included a livestock auction.Yorkshire and Humber
Food walks - January sees the launch of the Yorkshire and Humber regional food walks; visits, activities and resources based around four food chains including Dairy, Chicken and Egg, Cereals and Rhubarb. The first food theme will be ‘The Rhubarb Walk’ – honouring one of Yorkshire’s most celebrated culinary contributions. The Rhubarb walk will coincide with the Wakefield Festival of Food, Drink & Rhubarb on Friday 7 March and Saturday 8 March 2008. For further details contact: jasonw@yas.co.ukSouth East
SEEDA is sponsoring an exciting opportunity for schools across the South East region to apply for a Transport Voucher, worth up to £300. Primary, Secondary and Special schools registered with the Year of Food and Farming, can apply for a year class to experience a visit to a farm, horticultural grower or producer, or to take part in a countryside activity. The form can be downloaded from the website - www.yearoffoodandfarming.org.uk/SouthEast .South West
FarmLink and FACE have been working tirelessly over the autumn/winter to ensure that every school within the region is no more than 15 miles from a hosting farm and that at least 100 extra regional farmers are CEVAS (Countryside Educational Visits Accreditation Scheme) trained by the end of the academic year. If this is a scheme you are interested in knowing more about, contact Paul Hillard of FACE on 01935 863886 or visit www.face-online.org.ukEast of England
School Farm and Country Fair (Wednesday 23 April 2008 at Trinity Park) - open to 3,500 seven to nine year old Suffolk School pupils studying at Key Stage 2. Through interactive displays and exhibits the pupils will learn about many aspects of food and farming as part of the Year. For further details please contact: hannah.williams@suffolkshow.co.ukWest Midlands
As part of the Year of Food and Farming, regional food group HEART of ENGLAND fine foods (HEFF) has launched a new young person’s website www.heff.co.uk/youngatheff . Whilst the main aim of the new website is to promote farmers and farming, including interviews and a farmer’s blog, it offers other areas of interest for young people.East Midlands
In this region there are various events planned in the New Year to help farmers host visits and share their expertise. January 29th, 4.30 - 6.30pm at Abbey Farm - a meeting for farmers "just thinking" about getting involved. Call 0115 937 6812 to book your place. February 20th and 21st - 2 day "Speak Out" training course in Leicestershire run by LEAF on hosting farm walks, giving talks and dealing with the media. Call Roly Puzey on 07764 201333 to book your place. (Places are offered FREE to farmers - thanks to East Midlands Year of Food and Farming funding)
Exciting new resources and events
St George’s Day Poetry Competition
The 2008 National Year of Reading is an important initiative and is one of the key priorities for the Department for Children, Schools and Families during 2008-2009. As part of the Year of Food and Farming, 14 year olds and under are being invited to write a poem about what food and farming in England means to them. Further details will be available in the next newsletter.Food a Fact of Life
Do you want to create an attractive display which helps children learn about different foods? The cooking and food skills module is full of attractive photographs of familiar and more unusual foods. Not only do the food images make a bright, eye catching display, but they are also great for helping children learn to recognise and name different foods. They can also help prompt discussion, e.g. What does this food taste like? Where does it come from? What can you make with it? These great images can be found at www.foodafactoflife.org.ukNew Initial Teacher Training booklet
The Association for Science Education (ASE) and the Field Studies Council (FSC) have produced and published a booklet to support the development of outdoor teaching in secondary science education — 'Initial Teacher Education and the Outdoor Classroom: Standards for the Future'. The booklet is a report with recommendations on the training of pre-service teachers to support the development of outdoor teaching in secondary science education. The booklet has already stimulated a great deal of interest, including at a recent FSC training event attended by trainee teachers and Ofsted. The booklet can be downloaded from the Outdoor Science pages of the ASE website ( www.ase.org.uk/htm/teacher_zone/outdoor_science/outdoor_science.php )Farming and Countryside Education
A second edition of Exploring..., a newsletter for primary schools looks at Healthy Living. It features a wealth of examples of activities and ideas from around the country including growing food, fitness, cooking and visits to farms. For free copies contact enquiries@face-online.org.ukFarm to fork board game!
The British Nutrition Foundation will soon be launching an exciting board game called, ‘From farm to fork!’ The activity will be the centre fold of the Foundation’s free termly newsletter, ‘BNF Education News.’ The activity is designed to help children understand where their food comes from. Players have to match the food cards they are dealt with food source cards they draw at random, e.g. bread to wheat, diary cow to yogurt. The game is suitable for 2-4 players. To get your free game, sign up for Education news, now, at www.nutrition.org.uk/register or download the game from www.foodafactoflife.org.ukThe Growing Schools Programme...
is delighted to announce that it will be holding its first national conference at Birmingham Botanical Gardens on the 7th April 2008 to support all teachers from Early Years through to Secondary who are interested in expanding and improving learning outside the classroom in their schools. The conference will open at 9.00 am and finish at 4.30pm with refreshments and lunch provided. The cost is £50.00 and places are limited to 200. Demand for places is expected to be high so all those interested should pre-register to avoid disappointment. Please e-mail your full name organisation or school, address and post code to conference@countrysidefoundation.org.uk .
Growing activities
RHS Campaign for School Gardening – join this campaign and reap the benefits for your school. The aim of this campaign is that by 2012, with RHS help, 80% of UK primary schools will be providing their pupils with hands-on learning opportunities in school grounds to grow plants and garden sustainably. The campaign website is a key resource: www.rhs.org.uk/schoolgardening, providing a wealth of ideas for schools and pupils in order to get them gardening. Once registered, schools will receive a start up kit and be encouraged to work through five benchmarking levels. On completion of each level and following submission of relevant evidence each school will receive a certificate and reward. The RHS has appointed the first of the Campaign Regional Advisors, in the East of England, to assist schools in their locality to get growing. Schools in the East of England can contact the Advisor directly at schoolgardeningeast@rhs.org.uk
The British Potato Council is encouraging potato-growing in more schools to celebrate the International Year of the Potato 2008. Designated by the United Nations, the International Year of the Potato aims to focus attention on the importance of the potato and the BPC has pledged its support and is encouraging schools to register for the Grow Your Own Potatoes project as a great way of connecting children with potatoes. The aim is for quarter of a million children to take part in this unique project, the largest national competition of its kind. It is a fun, hands-on way for children to see and understand how potatoes grow and how they feature in a healthy diet. All the supporting worksheets are aligned to the national curriculum and newly launched this year are extra worksheets that cover geography and history in celebration of the IYP. In its third year, it is free for schools to take part and each school receives a growing kit containing seed potatoes, an interactive height chart and a £5 garden voucher. There is also a new Teachers Centre on the website www.potatoesforschools.org.uk featuring extensive curriculum-backed resources. Prizes are available to the school that grows the heaviest crop of potatoes in June. To take part, schools should register by 8th February online at www.potatoesforschools.org.uk or call 01865 782276.
Cooking activities
The Chef’s Adopt a School Trust teaches respect for food, food provenance, nutrition, health and hygiene as well as cooking as a life skill. A dedicated team of professional chefs go into schools and deliver workshops, guiding children through the senses and the tastes, familiarising them with various different raw ingredients and food production methods. The Trust provides an enthralling programme structured around workshop sessions suitable for young people from 5 - 18 which integrates well with Key Stages 1 – 4 of the National Schools Curriculum. Chefs Adopt a School has linked up with several farms as part of the Year of Food and Farming and the team in the North West are also organising sessions based on fruit pies, jams and sauces as part of the Year. For more information visit www.academyofculinaryarts.org.uk/adoptaschool.
Toby Carvery will soon be launching a nationwide placemat design competition open to schools up and down the country for pupils aged 4-11 years. Budding artists are invited to submit a unique design which encourages children to eat more fruit and vegetables. There are book tokens and cookery equipment up for grabs and the winning entry will appear on dining tables in 120 Toby Carveries around the UK. To get your hands on an entry pack, contact Laura Walls at Willoughby Public Relations on 0121 456 3004 / lauraw@willoughby-pr.co.uk or visit www.tobyfoodandfarming.co.uk for more information. Toby Carvery is also offering primary schools up and down the country a unique experience: the chance to attend Toby’s very own ‘Chef School’. Those attending will be given an exclusive glimpse of what goes on right at the carvery deck and understand the behind-the-scenes expertise at one of the UK’s most popular restaurants. Kids will be invited to put on their chef’s hats and find out all about where their food comes from – as well as being given a full carvery demonstration by one of Toby’s master carvers. To register your interest, please contact Laura Walls at Willoughby Public Relations on 0121 456 3004 / lauraw@willoughby-pr.co.uk or visit www.tobyfoodandfarming.co.uk for more information.
Active Kids Get Cooking have you registered? AKGC is a free scheme which supports and rewards good food work in schools. By signing up to the scheme, you can claim free certificates for your students when they have completed cooking tasks. After signing up, you will receive a guide to help you plan cooking activities which fall in line with curriculum requirements - meaning no extra work is needed, you get support and certificates for the work you already do! The Active Kids Get Cooking website also provides free resources such as recipes and worksheets. Why not have a look and sign up now? Go to www.activekidsgetcooking.org.uk
Farm visits
Open Farm Sunday get involved! Organiser’s LEAF (Linking Environment And Farming) have ambitious plans for this year’s Open Farm Sunday (1st June) and want to build on the fantastic success of last year’s event when 7000 farmers and helpers hosted 400 open days all over the country for over 150,000 local families, friends and neighbours to learn about what farmer’s do, why they do it and why farms matter. Just like every farm being unique, no one event was the same, some organised a small farm walk for their non farming neighbours, whilst others put on activities, food tasting, tractor and trailer rides, plus much more for hundreds of people. To help you organise an event LEAF will provide you with a pack to include – posters, flyers, roadside notice boards and arrows, suggested activities, H&S guidance, polo shirts and lots more! In addition to the pack LEAF is organising a series of practical on farm events/workshops to provide advice on how to publicise and organise a fun and safe event. If you would like to take part in Open Farm Sunday please register your event on www.farmsunday.org or if you would like to know more first, please telephone LEAF on 02476 413911. CLA Insurance Services are lending its support to The Year of Food and Farming by offering free public liability cover to policyholders who organise a public event on their farm. CLA Insurance Services is an independent broker and arranges farm insurance for members with a number of leading insurers. Each of these has agreed to extend the public liability section of cover for participating policyholders’ at no extra cost. For this additional insurance cover to be effective, all that the member needs to do is contact CLA Insurance Services in advance of the event taking place. The company will also supply a safety checklist to ensure the event runs successfully. For more information or to make the relevant arrangements please call CLA Insurance Services Senior Client Manager Adrian Lockyer on 01234 408601.
If you have any further enquiries about NFYFC, please e-mail post@nfyfc.org.uk
