All too often children do not know where their food comes from, but farm visits, gardening and cooking can help them to understand healthy eating and care for the environment.

That is the message of a new DVD, commissioned by Organic Centre Wales and Farming and Countryside Education Wales.

"We hope the DVD will inspire teachers to take advantage of the many opportunities for children to learn about food production first hand, such as visiting a local farm or farmers' market, or growing food in the school grounds," said Jane Powell, of Organic Centre Wales and Face Wales.

The seven-minute bilingual DVD was produced and directed by Nick Rebbeck, education officer for Learning on the Farm (LOTF), and follows a number of primary schools, including Llandysul, Llanilar, Llwyn-yr-Eos and Tregaron, as they take part in the Learning along the Food Chain' experience.

This includes farm visits, gardening, visiting a farmers' market held in the school grounds, preparing and cooking vegetables on the Welsh Assembly sponsored cooking bus, and eating a hearty school meal made from local food.

It will be distributed free to schools around Wales.

The DVD can also be seen at www.organic.aber.ac.uk/schools or request a copy from Organic Centre Wales.

An accompanying information sheet provides links to a range of organisations which can help schools, including the Healthy Schools Scheme.

2:47pm Friday 9th May 2008

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