SHEFFIELD pupils celebrated National School Meals Week recently with a ‘Meet the Grower’ day, where they were given the opportunity to see how their school meals are made.
Around 180 pupils from eight schools looked at how food is produced, learnt what should be on a child’s plate to ensure a healthy diet and discovered what happens to food waste and leftover school meals.
The day was organised by schools’ caterer Chartwells, and was of particular interest to the pupils who regularly help out with school gardening or growing clubs.
At Wensleydale Creamery based in Hawes, North Yorkshire, the children, aged nine and ten, first saw how cheese is made. They observed milk boiling on the hob, had a look, feel and smell of curd and whey, and finally tasted some cheese varieties that had never previously passed their lips, including smoked and cranberry Wensleydale.
Meat producers Ensors then talked about organic meat to the pupils before asking four eager volunteers per group to don some gloves, add chopped onions to minced beef and get mixing with their hands. A butcher’s burger press was then used to make organic beef burgers, just like those that Ensors supplies for the eight schools’ menus. The pupils were even able to taste the burgers, much to their delight.
Having seen organic burgers and Wensleydale cheese being made, the children also enjoyed an educational session about food waste. Greenzone quizzed the pupils about recycling and what they thought happened to the leftovers from their school meals, and handed out compost samples made from school food waste in which each pupil planted their own watercress seeds.
Finally, the youngsters spent an interactive session with one of Chartwells’ nutritionists, Danielle Bretherton. Learning about the nutritional benefits and the effects of different vitamins foods, pupils took part in interactive tasks, including pretending to be on a rollercoaster to understand the ‘highs’ and subsequent ‘lows’ that people get when eating sugar.
Having provided the catering to Sheffield City Council’s schools since 2006, specialist education caterer Chartwells was joined by Cllr. Alison Brelsford, who said: “The day was not only great fun for the kids, but sparked their interest about what happens to food before it’s on their plate.
“I think it’s essential for children to get a real sense of what’s in their diet, as it is only from understanding how food gets from the field to the supermarket shelf that you can make more responsible choices about what you eat.”
Chartwells, part of Compass Group UK & Ireland, is planning on hosting another ‘Meet the Grower’ day in the spring for eight more schools.