In Scotland? Learn more about FFL Scotland here.
In Scotland? Learn more about FFL Scotland here.
Tags:
06 October 2023
Chloe Smee, Senior Programme Manager, has a background in local government sustainability and first became involved in Food for Life as a Local Programme Manager in York. After that contract finished, she couldn’t shake the feeling of how essential and important Food for Life’s mission is, with an evidence-based programme which prioritises children as experts in what they want and need.
Seven years later, Chloe leads on Food for Life’s work across local authorities and within early years settings. Below, find out more about how things have changed over those years.
Why is Food for Life’s mission so important?
What’s really unique to Food for Life is the citizenship, and making sure that across all our work everyone is an active participant in the food system. Even with our Early Years programme, tiny children are active participants. They’re not just consumers of the food marketed to them, they have a good grounding in what food is and why that matters so they can make informed decisions when feeding themselves, their families and their communities.
What was Food for Life like when you started?
We’ve been victims of our success in that we were so innovative when we first started – designed by a dinner lady, giving voice to people who were usually hidden from the food system – and we’ve really convinced people of the voices which need to be heard. Lots of voices have sprung up since, so it feels like a much more crowded space.
Do you have a Food for Life memory you’re particularly fond of?
I was working with Clifton Green Primary School in York who were serving very diverse communities, including children who weren’t guaranteed a good meal at home, but the school were convinced food was a vehicle for change. We led our first school farmers market there. Initially, there was a lot of resistance from leadership that it was a middle-class idea and wasn’t right for their audience, but we worked closely with local suppliers to ensure the price point was right and that what was on sale would be things the community really wanted. We had a local baker, butchers, and vegetable grower, as well as things on sale that the children had made. The farmers market was completely rammed, and everything sold out in twenty minutes! The art of the possible is key to Food for Life, and the market meant children were able to take home healthy food to their families which was also healthy for the local economy and the planet. The children felt really proud – it was a real moment where dots joined up and ideas came together.
What work is left to do?
Over the next three years, we need to see a shift around nurseries and early years provision. We need to make sure that, through the government’s new universal childcare provision, early years practitioners and cooks are supported to provide healthy and sustainable food. Children and parents should learn what good food is alongside their nurseries. It’s a universal way of building food citizenship from that first point children come into the world. That for me is top priority.