Growing food in schools is good for children and more of it needs to be done, finds report

The report – from the Food Growing in Schools Taskforce which included the School Food Trust's chief executive, Judy Hargadon – makes six recommendations to help schools: • A national campaign celebrating food growing in schools • A policy emphasis on food growing in schools • A food growing in schools online hub • Business commitments to support food growing in schools • Promotion of food growing by school leadership teams • Improved links between food growing in schools and food-related careers Children across a staggering 80% of England's schools are now involved in some level of school food growing thanks to school initiatives including the Big Lottery funded Food for Life Partnership, corporate schemes like Morrisons' Let's Grow, and charitable programmes like the RHS Campaign for school gardening - initiatives which work with over 26,000 schools. The Taskforce looked at evidence from all of these schemes and more, alongside academic research including an independent report from National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER), which surveyed 1302 schools and undertook a systematic literature review, contributing evidence confirming that school food growing activity: • Encourages and facilitates learning particularly in science • Builds skills, including life, enterprise and employment related skills • Improves awareness and understanding of the natural environment • Promotes health and well being in relation to diet and nutrition • Supports school improvement and development • Strengthens communities and interaction Hargadon said: "When children are connected with their food – by knowing how it grows and where it comes from, how to cook it and how to choose what to eat for a healthy diet – it pays back enormous rewards for their education, their health and their wellbeing. "We know from our own research that when children eat better, they do better in class, and having the experience of growing food as part of their school and community can really stimulate their interest in what they eat. Crucially, practical cooking and growing skills aren't just invaluable in themselves – they are also wonderful ways of teaching children many other subjects. That's why it's so important that every child learns to grow and cook at school." Chair of the Taskforce, garden organic's Myles Bremner, added: "For the first time society, providers and business, all working with children and schools, have come together and we've got robust evidence that supports our work. "We're excited that getting children growing food has even wider impact than we first thought, and these benefits for the child, the environment and our communities are now clear for government, policy makers, funders, and the schools involved to see. Our next challenge is to build upon this momentum by working together to make it possible for every school to become a food growing school."