Adam Henson champions school supply chain transparency

An initiative to make the nations school dinners 100% traceable from farm to fork is being launched by BBC Countryfile star Adam Henson on Friday (11 May).

The project, called “Please Sir! Feed Me Truth” aims to address how the nation values food provenance and to reconnect the next generation of consumers with where their food comes from.

See also: How a group of beef farmers took over their supply chain

Using traceability technology, Mr Henson hopes every school in the country will take up the scheme and commit to making their supply chains transparent.

Mr Henson said: “The appreciation and understanding of food starts with children simply knowing how and where the ingredients on their plate were produced. But they don’t.”

“They have no idea. Every school dinner has a story to tell – a journey. It leaves a footprint. We need every child to explore it and be inspired and learn from it.”

Retail chain Midcounties Cooperative are funding an educational resource that will arrange field trips and school visits to give children first-hand experience of the journey food makes to arrive on their plates.  

Food industry least transparent 

The project is being run by Happerley, a farmer-founded not-for-profit which goal is to enhance food supply chain transparency in the UK.

“The food industry remains one of the least transparent and we are not told the origins of most of the ingredients in our food,” said farmer and Happerley founder, Matthew Rymer.

“Children are particularly susceptible to buying into brands and clever marketing because they do not know or understand better.”

Mr Rymer added, “By working through the food chain to deliver the full story of the ingredients that make their school dinners, our hope is we can create a seismic change in understanding for the future that impacts positively on their health and nutrition, the environment and sustainable food production.”