On Wednesday of this week pupils at a Stockport school had a fantastic time tasting fresh, local, organic salads. Priestnall School is the first secondary school in Greater Manchester to take part in an exciting pilot to adapt its menu to introduce more local, healthy, organic fresh veg into its menus.
The pupils tasted a potato salad, a roast vegetable salad, a beetroot and carrot salad and a tomato and spring onion with veg supplied by FarmStart growers.
The pupils really enjoyed trying new foods. One pupil, was blown away by the fresh veg. “Today I have discovered beetroot!” she said.
Priestnall is part of a pilot project with partners Manchester Veg People, The Kindling Trust, Cracking Good Food and Feeding Stockport that will see the school greatly increase the amount of local organic veg eaten by their pupils.
Cracking Good Food will adapt school menus to make them more sustainable: increasing the use of locally grown, organic veg that comes straight from the field to the plate but staying within the cost of school dinners so the price is the same for parents, even though local farmers will get a fair price for their produce.
John Cregg, Headmaster at Priestnall School said, “I am delighted and proud that our school is the first in Greater Manchester to introduce organic produce into our menus in this way. We are all very aware of the short and long-term benefits of a healthy diet and the impact that this can have on a child’s ability to concentrate and learn well in the classroom. We are also very happy to support our local suppliers and make a positive contribution to a sustainable local economy.”
Priestnall pupils have already tried out new dishes such as coconut and vegetable curry, leek pie, pasta bake and vegetable masala and the pilot will run for a full term with extra activities such as cookery classes, support for chefs, farmer visits and tasting sessions.
This pilot project has been made possible with funding from the Ashden Trust, the Mark Leonard Trust and the Esmee Fairbairn Foundation - so a big thank you to them for all their support!