Bristol Food Education Charter launches this week

Feedback from more than 250 eight to 16-year-olds across the Bristol has culminated in the creation of the Bristol Food Education Charter, which launches this week. The charter aims to make food education for children and young people a priority and act as a catalyst for change, improving provision in Bristol and beyond.

Lead researcher Dr William Baker, Associate Professor of Sociology and Education at the University of Bristol, teamed up with the Feeding Bristol charity to compile the project.

Dr Baker said: “We are calling for institutions and organisations that work with children and young people, ranging from schools to youth clubs, as well as families and the wider community, to adopt the charter and fuel this overwhelming appetite to learn more about all kinds of food and gain cookery skills.”

The research project found young people wanted to have more opportunities for learning about food and to cook at school. They also wanted to find out more about the origins of food, discover cuisines from different nationalities and cultures, and develop more practical skills.

Local children shared their views in spoken and written words, as well as images, at open-access sessions held in schools, adventure playgrounds and other community venues across the city last year. Working in partnership with Feeding Bristol’s The Children’s Kitchen the project, also featured hands-on activities, including preparing food items and sharing a meal together.

Many children highlighted the lack of food and cooking-related education they experience at school and in other settings. One participant responded: “I don’t think there is anywhere to learn really, because school doesn’t do it, and I can’t do it at home,” while another commented: “I’d like to learn at school, but we don’t do anything. We might have done it once in primary, but I can’t remember.”

Feedback also revealed a strong desire to broaden their awareness and experience of foods and dishes from around the world. “My friends are from loads of different countries, and they all eat different food, I want to try it all”, “I would like to learn about where food comes from…”, and “I think we should learn about food from other cultures,” were amongst the key takeaway comments.

Dr Baker added: “Young people are missing out on crucial food education and opportunities to learn about food. Our project shows loud and clear that children have great passion to learn more about food in all its different forms, to find out more about where it comes from, and to be able to cook.

“Many children said there was very little food education at school, and they wanted to know more about as well as taste foods from different cultures and nationalities. Some children also weren’t able to cook at home, and expressed their wish to be trusted more around food. Overall the findings showed an alarming shortage of food education provision and children’s frustration about lacking in knowledge and experience of different foods and cooking skills.”

Co-researcher Jo Ingleby, Head of Food Education at Feeding Bristol and Director of The Children’s Kitchen, said: "This research has been really enlightening, hearing first-hand how keen the city's young people are to cook, and the shortfall of opportunities they have. This isn't just in schools, though they play a part, it is also at home and in out of school clubs. I have been excited by the kinds of foods they want to cook; it's not all pizzas, it is food they see on social media, and it is whole meals for friends and family, rather than snacks."

The Charter will be shared with primary and secondary schools across Bristol, Bristol City Council, and national organisations aimed at improving children and young people’s access to food and food education. It includes a toolkit, so they can run similar workshops and further information on how to support the Charter’s goals.