Why Food Growing on the School Curriculum is a ‘No Brainer’

I was interviewed on BBC Radio Cambridgeshire on Monday about our petition to get Food Growing, Cooking & Nutrition on the Curriculum. At the end of the show two messages came in from listeners, one said: ‘Well done, ‘no brainer’, the other; ‘You people live in another world’!

The second actually proved the first because the ‘you people’ were myself, ITV chef Parveen Spice Queen, and food-loving DJ Jeremy Sallis, all educated by our parents about food. We all eat healthy food and if required can cook a delicious, healthy, meal for 4 people in 20 minutes for under £1/head.

The second message obviously came from someone who was not lucky enough to have this knowledge, so surely providing it in school is a; ‘no brainer’?

Especially when:
1. 20% of NHS spend is on food related disease
2. 13,000 schools have veg patches/gardens, some unused because it is not on the curriculum
3. The knowledge from charities working with schools for the last 5 years can be quickly added to the curriculum
4. Sugar tax can pay for veg patches and maintenance
5. Farming subsidies can encourage farmers to help schools
6. BigBarn’s Crop for the Shop scheme can provide the extra benefit of commerce training video here
7. Teachers will not require extra training and also benefit from the food knowledge

So please sign our petition here and forward to your friends and contacts, we need lots of signatures to get the government to change. If you disagree please comment below.