Teach children about food cultivation, appreciation and identification

IT’S never too early to teach children about the concept of growing, consuming and supporting local food producers. It may be somewhat of an educational role today, whereas in the past our relationship with food was more intuitive having being passed down from generation to generation.

What children see, they learn, and introducing them to food cultivation is vital for swaying the young minds of today towards the route of becoming the cultivators of tomorrow. The dietary benefits of consuming nutritionally home-grown and organic produce is obvious. But food is about more than this. It’s about growing; it’s about caring and it’s about appreciation.

Promoting local food producers and Farmers Markets is an ideal introductory course for children (and adults!). A stroll through any food market is an open book on food that opens children’s minds. A 2019 UK survey found that of one in five children between the ages of 6 and 12 didn’t know apples grow on trees; moreover, a 2019 Mintel Children’s Healthy Eating Habits survey in Ireland found that only 18 percent of children are eating the recommended 5 portions of fruit and vegetables every day. There is a clear gap when it comes to creating a link between consumption of vegetables and knowledge of where they come from.

Attending Farmers’ Markets is a fun way of socialising children in an environment where healthy food and healthy living is absorbed naturally. It’s important to do this with children in a way that isn’t judgmental or onerous, but through fun and inclusiveness.

Getting your children to eat and grow to love food increases when they understand the process involved. Local food producers and Farmers’ Markets are a vital cog in this wheel.