Children connect with milk journey

THE COUNTRY’S largest dairy cooperative said it feels responsible for helping schoolchildren to understand where food comes from.

Arla, the farmer co-operative with a major processing plant in Leeds, is teaming up with the Co-op and schools to show young people how food is made.

The latest cohort to benefit from the partnership were primary school pupils from the Coop Academy Brownhill in East Leeds, who experienced the full farm to store journey of dairy in an inflatable classroom.

Pupils were taught where milk comes from, how dairy products are made and how milk gets from farms to their local Co-op stores.

Graham Wilkinson, head of agriculture at Arla Foods UK, said: “Understanding food, where it comes from and how it’s made is a real challenge for today’s youth.

“Our farmer owners feel strongly that we have a responsibility to show children the full process from farm to fork and working with the Co-op and directly with schools is a great way to do this.”

The inflatable classroom included sessions on how farmers care for cows and the different types of milk that cows produce.

Pupils also learnt about the processes at a dairy farm, from homogenisation to the packaging process, and about the nutritional value of dairy products.

Clare Cope, teacher at Co-op Academy Brownhill, said: “It’s so important that youngsters fully understand the farm to fork journey that results in the food they eat at every meal.”

Arla Foods is a cooperative owned by 11,200 dairy farmers across Europe, 2,400 of which are from the UK.