Any conversation about health has to start with childhood. Food choices and nutritional habits formed in childhood dictate our adult relationship with food. The UK has a school meal programme for children that has come under scrutiny in the past.
Nicole Pisani was a former head chef of a leading London restaurant. She gave up that role to engage in helping future generations of children eat well and develop healthy food habits. She co-founded the charity, ‘Chefs in Schools’ to inspire change in school food by freely sharing knowledge of what works well, both in kitchens and classrooms, to schools across the country. A central part of the model is also providing education and hands on experience for the children. This encompasses growing, harvesting, preparing and eating food as a holistic approach.
With the motto, ‘Better is Possible’, Chefs in Schools provides various models from training existing teams to installing head chefs and whole school transformations. Children and their parents/guardians are involved in an ongoing conversation and shared experiences with food. Education is key and school curricula include cooking lessons and learning about food and nutrition.
The Chefs in Schools model is currently in 20 schools in London. The aim is to extend the model beyond London and one day have every school in the UK providing education and great healthy food for our children. The charity provides a charter that anyone can download, sign and implement. Chefs in Schools is a great initiative and really worthy of support!
For more info go to ChefsinSchools.org.uk
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