Hampshire Fare Takes Local Food To The Classroom
To celebrate British Food Fortnight, Hampshire Fare and a selection of local producers visited Berrywood Primary School in Hedge End on Wednesday 4th October to inspire year 6 pupils.
British Food Fortnight (23rd September – 8th October), is a national celebration aimed at highlighting and raising awareness of UK food. Hampshire Fare, has been working to spread the word about local food for 26 years and uses British Food Fortnight as a key time to take this message in to local schools.
Pupils were able to inspect an array of fresh fish brought to the school by J&S Fresh Fish. The fishmonger shared plenty of fishy facts before filleting and deboning a fish.
It was then on to a session focusing on strawberries and local fruits. New Forest Fruits explained how strawberries are grown in Hampshire and have been for many years and Jen from Naked Jam gave some foraging tips.
For the last session, Hampshire Fare and Honesty Group teamed up to talk real bread and locally grown foods. Pupils had the opportunity to feel different yeasts and taste artisan bread baked that day.
Chris Reilly, Headteacher commented "The children had a fantastic morning learning about British produce. As a school we are trying very hard to promote healthy eating from environmentally friendly and sustainable sources. This is an excellent project!"
Tracy Nash, Commercial Manager of Hampshire Fare, said: “We have so enjoyed having the opportunity to come along and spend time talking local food with year 6. They have asked lots of questions and really got involved in today’s sessions. Thank you to all the producers who gave their time and resources to this event. This is our third year of visiting a local school during British Food Fortnight and we are delighted that both previous schools have made it an annual event, we hope that Berrywood Primary School decides to continue the legacy next year.”
A number of the children mentioned how much they enjoyed the day, including;
Maia
"I really enjoyed the strawberrys and foraging talk. It was really cool to eat leaves, flowers and starwberries. I didnt know that the leaves we tried were edible and they are used for jams and jelly, It was a great day.
Adam
"A great way to look at local produce, help local producers and learn about the quintessentially perfect parts and cuts of a fish."
Libby
"I really liked the fishmonger because I learnt lots about fish and now I think I would eat much more."