Why Cooking in Schools

The decline in people’s ability to cook over the past generation has been broadcast far and wide. The British now eat a staggering 50% of all the ready made meals sold in Europe (1) and it is no exaggeration to say that cooking is becoming a forgotten skill for most people under the age of 30.

Thanks to the tireless campaigning work of the Focus on Food campaign (2) and many high profile chefs from across the country “Food Technology” was set to become a mandatory part of the curriculum in secondary schools in the UK (from September 2011). There are worrying indications that this policy may be abandoned by the new Department for Education, but not without a fight from a coalition of food campaigners, including School Food Matters!  

Children's Food Campaign are now leading the charge and together the coalition has written this letter to the Prime Minister, David Cameron.

We believe that every child should be given the opportunity to learn cooking skills at school.

This is why:

• Being able to cook means you have more control over what you are putting into your body. Britain is only second to America when it comes to an overweight population, but research shows that people who cook are generally healthier than those who don’t (1).
• Children who cook are more likely to report that they like cooking “a lot” as well as showing increased willingness to try new foods. Learning how to cook at school also shows a transfer of benefits in the home, with children being more ready to help in the kitchen (3).
• Children who attend schools with well developed food education programmes (cooking and growing) exhibit better knowledge about making healthy food choices (60% versus 36%), better attitudes about food (42% versus 19%) and improved eating habits (35% verus 16%) (4).
• Let's Get Cooking (a network of over 5,000 school-based family cooking clubs) reports that nearly 60% of people taking part say they eat a healthier diet after being taught how to cook balanced meals (5). Over 9 out of 10 (92%) LGC club participants also report regularly using their new cooking skills at home (6).
• Cooking is the cornerstone activity to eating together, and shared family meal times still rate as one of the best ways for families to connect – particularly in families with teenagers (7).

(1) http://www.jamieoliver.com/jamies-ministry-of-food/about
(2) The Focus on Food campaign; a short history of the Focus on Food Campaign
(3) Evaluation of the Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Program; Key Findings of the Final Report October 2009, The University of Melbourne
(4) An Evaluation of the School Lunch Initiative: changing students’ knowledge, attitudes and behavior in relation to food: University of California at Berkeley September 2010
(5) Cooking Up An Obesity Solution; Lets Get Cooking December 2010  
(6) A Recipe For Healthier Communities; The Impact of Lets Get Cooking Oct 2007 to Sept 2011
(7) Family Day; a “CASA” Initiative from the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse, Columbia University, NY, USA