Tesco has launched a farm-to-fork education programme to provide children with an awareness of where food comes from and encourage them to eat more healthily.
The campaign, which is part of the Tesco Eat Happy project, is backed by Diabetes UK, Children’s Food Trust and the NFU. From the end of February, children will be able to go on educational trails in factories, farms and supermarkets for practical demonstrations on food production. Tesco hopes that in its first year the project will take 1m of the country’s 5m primary-aged children on educational visits.
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Classes will have the opportunity to talk to food suppliers across the world via Google+ hangouts and Google’s Connected Classrooms. Food suppliers already signed up to participate include Arla Foods, Greenvale, Noble Foods, Gs Produce and Berryworld.
The programme aims to help children have a “healthier relationship” with food. Tesco’s announcement comes as new research from the Future Foundation revealed that even though 90% of kids say they know which foods are healthy, fewer than 10% achieve their five-a-day target.
Tesco UK managing director, Chris Bush, said: “We know parents are concerned that kids don’t always understand how food is made and where it comes from, which is important to developing a strong positive lifelong relationship with food. Working closely with teachers, our suppliers and a number of partners including the Children’s Food Trust, we want to help make the relationship primary school kids have with food better.”
Tesco has pledged to spend GBP15m (US$25m) promoting healthier eating in the first year of the Eat Happy campaign.
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By GlobalDataEarlier this month, just-food reported on results from the National Obesity report which claimed around half the UK population would be obese by 2050. Campaigners called for manufacturers and retailers to take a more proactive stance in the fight against obesity.
