Commissions collaborate to support children’s nutrition and health

Children attending the Youth Commission’s summer Playscheme this year will have the opportunity to take part in a new project to learn about, cook and taste nutritious food, thanks to a collaboration with the Health Improvement Commission’s Eat Well team.

The ‘Farm to Fork’ project will take place over a number of short sessions, where children will try new healthy foods, learn about where nutritious food comes from, shop for ingredients and learn how to cook simple recipes for each other.

Cat Tyrrell, Eat Well Project Support Officer at the Health Improvement Commission, said this project adds to the growing number of settings working to embed a culture of nutrition and health:

‘Farm to Fork’ will provide children with a fun and engaging way to try new foods and develop life skills around nutrition’, she said. ‘We hope our tasting and cooking sessions will also provide parents with useful feedback and we’ll be providing resources so that families can continue to explore nutritious meals at home. It’s brilliant that the Youth Commission have invited us to deliver this project, and in doing so have provided an opportunity for young people to eat and learn about healthy, tasty and nutritious food.’

Emma Cusack, Playscheme co-ordinator for the Youth Commission, commented:

‘We’re really looking forward to working with the Eat Well team during this summer’s Playscheme. The project will offer young people in our community a unique opportunity to get involved in activities, such as a visit to The Soil Farm, where the children will see how vegetables are grown locally, and a visit to the Guernsey Dairy to see how milk-based products are produced.’

Active travel will be a key component of these sessions, with small groups making journeys on foot to venues that are easily within walking distance. Throughout Playscheme, the Health Improvement Commission has also arranged for each child to be provided with a fruit and vegetable snack every day. Thanks is given to Milton Produce Ltd for providing these snacks at a discount.

The Health Improvement Commission would also like to thank The Soil Farm and the Guernsey Dairy for agreeing to host and provide informative tours.

The tasting session tomorrow takes place at Beaucamp school (11 - 12)