Co-op store links kids with farm

Pupils from Robin Hood Primary School in Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, have been taken by their local Co-op store to see how food is grown and what happens on a farm.

First of all, staff from the Mansfield Woodhouse Co-op store visited the school to tell the kids about how The Co-operative Farm in Leicestershire hosts an outdoor learning day for schoolchildren.

They were then taken to visit Oadby Lodge Farm, which is part of The Co-operative Group.

 The store was able to help by providing ingredients such as flour, tuna, peppers, mushrooms and cheese, which pupils took with them and used to make tasty pizzas during their day at the farm.

Co-op staff also raised money to help with the cost of the school’s bus to the farm, by dressing up and holding a tombola in-store.

As well as cooking during their trip to the farm, pupils spent time looking at crops in the fields and learnt how to identify seeds such as oil-seed rape, wheat, barley and oats. They also walked through the tall maize field and were given a corn on the cob to take home.

Gary Alexander from The Co-operative Group (see picture below) has been co-ordinating the farm visits in the area.

“As a community food retailer, we are keen to support local schools,” he said. “So we were pleased to be able to help send pupils from Robin Hood Primary School to the farm, and we hope they benefited from their visit as other schools in the area have done.”

Are you holding an event during the Year of Food and Farming? If so, we’d like to hear about it. Please e-mail details and pictures to philip.clarke@rbi.co.uk

Also, why not visit our Kids Connect Campaign website