Endorsements
"This is an excellent and timely initiative by Farmers Weekly which I applaud. Many kids in towns and cities are not sufficiently aware of the effort that goes into producing the food they eat. This campaign should help to change that. Getting children into the countryside and onto our farms is a great way to educate them and to enthuse them about British farming and top quality British food."
Mariann Fischer Boel, EU agriculture commissioner
"It is vital for all generations to understand where the food on their plates comes from. Educational efforts like this campaign allow more of us to connect with the farming sector; a sector that sculpted our beautiful and unique countryside and provides us with much of the produce we consume. I wish Farmers Weekly every success with their Kids Connect campaign."
David Miliband, Foreign Secretary (former secretary of state at DEFRA)
"There is a magic about growing food that is completely lost when you go into a supermarket. The Kids Connect campaign sounds like a wonderful thing – it is not just children that are disconnected from food but everyone. Farmers are great role models and it can only be a win win situation to get children to engage with farmers and find out where their food comes from."
Alex James Ex member of Blur
"There is a clear and urgent educational argument for children to learn outside the classroom and experience first hand the work of farmers.
I believe that the campaign by Farmers' Weekly has a vital role to play in encouraging farmers to take responsibility for connecting with the decision makers of the future by opening their farms to schools."
Bill Graham, FACE
"Children who become interested in food - in where it comes from, in who produces it, in how to cook it, in sharing it with friends - are more likely to eat healthily. And they'll enjoy food more too. The FW Kids Connect Campaign should help achieve this."
Prue Leith, journalist and food campaigner
"Teaching children more about where their food comes from is an excellent initiative. There has been a growing disconnect in recent years and this has contributed to many of the problems we now see with poor diet. Today’s children are tomorrow’s consumers and the sooner they start finding out what constitutes a healthy diet the better for all. There is no better way for them to learn than to get onto farms and hear it first hand. I wish the Kids Connect Campaign every success."
Kirsty Allsopp, TV property celebrity
"Unless children know where their food comes from, how it is grown, why should they care about it or about the people who grow it? Like it or not society is predominantly urban and is likely to become more so. So the chances are that the gap in understanding between town and country will become wider, unless a great effort is made to counter this. Besides all that, surely we want our children to be connected to their environment, to feel it is part of their lives, and therefore feel a responsibility for it. Farm visits widen horizons and deepen understanding, and even give a sense of belonging, all critically important to a child's education."
Michael Morpurgo, children’s author and director of Farms for City Children.
"Although the Year of Food and Farming is a nationally coordinated initiative spearheaded by government departments, it will only be successful if the industry fully engages with it. It should not be a question of what the Year can do for us, more a question as to what we can do to get behind the Year. With that in mind it is great to see Farmers Weekly leading by example with their Kids Connect Campaign. I wish it well."
Guy Smith, Essex farmer and NFU council member
"This is a terrific initiative and much needed. Helping children to make the connection between farming and the food on their plates is fundamental to bringing about a change in people’s attitude towards food, as well as engendering a healthy regard for farmers and the role they play in society and the economy"
Wilfred Emmanuel-Jones, The Black Farmer, Devon
"I welcome any scheme that encourages people, especially schoolchildren to visit a farm and learn more about where their food comes from. Kids Connect ties in well with NFU Scotland’s What’s on Your Plate? campaign which is encouraging people to think more about how they can support producers in their area."
Jim McLaren, president NFU Scotland
"It’s great that Farmers Weekly is adding its support to the growing movement of explaining the importance of food and farming to schoolchildren. It’s important that young people understand why farming matters - not just to the production of the food they eat, but also to the maintenance of the countryside around them. This campaign, like our newly launched Why Farming Matters teachers’ packs, will play a big role in increasing awareness and I welcome its launch."
Peter Kendall, NFU president.
"It’s always disappointing when you hear that children are still unaware of where their food comes from, especially as there has been a real effort in recent years to reverse this trend. That’s why campaigns such as Kids Connect are so important. The CLA in its centenary year made education one of its key priorities by encouraging more its members to open up their farms and estates to schools. The more opportunities there are for children to access farms and to learn about food production, the better."
David Fursdon, CLA president
More endorsements to follow.