Westcountry school children better understand their food

School children in the Westcountry now have a better understanding of where their food comes from as a result of ‘Dig Down South West’, according to a new survey being published today.

Almost 50 schools across the region unanimously agreed that through the campaign and by growing their own vegetables, the children’s knowledge had increased since the initiative was launched earlier this year by TV personality and expert gardener Charlie Dimmock.

Nine months ago, almost two thirds of pupils struggled to identify the origins of everyday food products they consume and less than one in four children knew that beef burgers were sourced from cows – just under a third thought they came from pigs.

A third of children incorrectly identified the main ingredient of crisps and over half couldn’t tell that milk or cream was used to make ice cream. Over 1,100 youngsters were questioned for the research commissioned by rural insurance firm Cornish Mutual.

The new survey* shows that boys in particular and those pupils needing a greater level of support appeared to benefit most from the ‘Dig Down South West’ campaign. The majority of schools involved used it as an integral part of their curriculum and many extended this outside of school hours. Over half of schools used the dedicated website to support their involvement.

88% of Devon schools provided opportunities for parental involvement – the highest of all counties in the South West. 70% felt ‘Dig Down’ provided benefits to the wider community.

71% of Cornish schools received external support from the wider community and were more likely to put the vegetables they grow to a variety of uses.

More than 50 vegetable gardens have been created in primary schools across Cornwall, Devon, Somerset and Dorset as a direct result of this initiative by Cornish Mutual. Nearly three quarters said they’d wanted to increase children’s awareness of where their food came from and promote healthy eating amongst pupils.

All respondents to the survey said their school had ‘benefitted’ from being involved and it ‘fitted in’ with the healthy schools agenda - the overall experience was described by all schools as ‘highly positive’. 21 schools that had not grown vegetables before taking part in ‘Dig Down South West’ said their experience had encouraged them to continue in the future.

Commenting on the new findings, Alan Goddard, Managing Director of Cornish Mutual, said: “Without question, ‘Dig Down South West’ has been a resounding success in the positive and beneficial experiences schools and their pupils have had by being involved. We’re delighted to hear that the children’s knowledge of where their food comes from has improved since the initial research and it’s great that the initiative has made a tangible difference to their education.”

He added: “There’s also evidence that the benefits of the campaign have been extended outside the school boundaries into the wider community and its clear there’s been a real impetus for some of the participating schools to continue, or even expand, their efforts for growing their own produce in future years.”

Just under half of schools had received help from members of the wider community during the course of the campaign and some said their project was encouraged and supported by local farmers. Two thirds of schools allowed pupils to take the produce home; while just over half used the vegetables within their cookery classes.

Ginny Ballinger from Perranporth Community Primary School said, “Dig Down had the WOW factor, an amazing experience.”

Penelope Polglaze, Governor at Mylor Bridge Community Primary School, Falmouth added: “We wanted to get a garden for the school as we do not have a great deal of green space in the village. A local farmer said he would provide a corner of a field for us, he prepared it and a mature student in the village made access a lot easier. Dig Down provided the initiative to go ahead.”

Dee Towers from St Neot Primary School said: “We did not grow vegetables before, we shall be growing them in the future.”

For more information about ‘Dig Down South West’ visit digdownsouthwest.co.uk and for more about Cornish Mutual’s products and services, visit cornishmutual.co.uk.