Make School Food Self Sufficient by Growing It

It’s not a new idea but it is gaining in popularity and is not as unachievable as it sounds. Alice Waters had a similar idea in California in 1995 which went on to great success.

So, what is stopping our schools from having a “grow it, dig it up and eat it” culture where the children are taught the idea as part of the curriculum and get to become keen growers and cooks as a result?

The answer to that question is that nothing is stopping it apart from a will to achieve it. But a step in the right direction is a new petition to Government started by self-confessed “life enthusiast” Ian Dunn who has started a campaign called “Self Sufficient Schools”

He told The Chefs’ Forum:

“Our petition to the government is currently open on Change.org: Make school food-growing and self-sufficiency a dedicated national curriculum subject.

“I’m a parent on mission, my petition calls for school food growing and self sufficiency to be a dedicated subject area of the national curriculum. Self-sufficiency includes learning to cook, use knives correctly, understand hygiene etc., pretty much everything I learned in City & Guilds 706/1 Chefs Certificate. It is time for schools to teach ‘relevant life-skills for healthy, sustainable futures.”

“All schools have space for growing food, such as vegetables, herbs, salad and fruit. With innovative techniques such as vertical gardening, even the edges of a playground can become an allotment. The more space available the larger the potential impact on education, children’s health and school finances. Smaller schools (with no fields or green space) may seem unlikely gardens, but walls, raised beds, roofs and planters can make a huge difference

“The most economical way to provide lunch for children is to cut-out all the middlemen. To grow the produce on-site, then simply pull it from the ground, prepare it in the school kitchen and eat it! The children can do that and learn at the same time.

Find out more here: https://selfsufficientschools.co.uk or follow @vegschoolmeals on twitter.