Eating Better

The Children’s Kitchen

By Sophie Jackson

Sophie Jackson

In the latest in our series about community cooking projects, Bristol Food Network volunteer Sophie Jackson looks at The Children’s Kitchen. Find out more about the project and how children can begin to build healthy food habits in the early years.

The Children’s Kitchen is a Feeding Bristol project in collaboration with Bristol Early Years. Together they aim to bring food education to children in areas of the city facing high levels of food insecurity. The project was launched by its Director, Jo Ingleby, after seeing the disconnect between food, growing, and our current education system.

We all want to set the next generation up with a foundation for lifelong good health, and it starts with fostering curiosity in our food system during children’s formative years. Eating habits are shaped early in life, and are increasingly influenced by the disconnect in our food environment between what grows, and what ends up on our plate. This makes it more important than ever to reconnect with where food comes from.

A trip to the supermarket highlights this disconnect; shelves packed with long lasting, processed items that are far removed from any natural form. While these foods have a place in contributing to food security, they distance us ever further from whole food nutrition. Without exposure to where our food comes from, how it grows and the importance of whole foods in our diets, children miss vital experiences necessary to develop healthy habits in later life.

The Children’s Kitchen tackles this societal issue by fostering curiosity and promoting understanding by exposing children early to food in its natural state. Through hands-on learning, children and their families are encouraged to engage with growing environments. This approach creates a safe, and relaxed space for children to learn at their own pace, leading to greater acceptance of fruits, vegetables, and plants in their diets. When children form stronger connections with food from an early age, they become more willing to try a wider range of foods, ultimately fuelling their bodies through healthier eating habits and improving long-term health outcomes. 

The project is now active in 19 early years settings across Bristol, where The Children’s Kitchen team are encouraging the incorporation of food and growing activities into their curriculum, reconnecting children with the roots of our food system. Beyond this, The Children’s Kitchen plays a role in the steering group for the Holiday Activities and Food programme, working with children and young people aged 7-18 and their families.

Additionally, The Children’s Kitchen engage parents through Food Clubs, which provide access to fresh produce – often the same items used in the childrens’ sessions. By offering cooking demonstrations and workshops, the project bridges the gap between what children learn at school and what happens in their home kitchen, creating an environment for the whole family to connect their learning into new spaces, together. 

Growing Spaces for Growing Minds 

In partnership with Edible Bristol, the Director of The Children’s Kitchen, Jo Ingleby, is working to create growing spaces for children to plant, grow, harvest and eat the food that they’ve tended to through a “Plot to Plate” approach. These projects extend beyond just food; they are about building community programmes that connect people through shared experiences with food. By addressing food insecurity and promoting healthy eating, the project helps to create a stronger, more self-sufficient community – linking early years food education programmes with broader food networks and strategic planning for the city. This approach ensures food education plays a key role in the larger effort to tackle food inequality. 

With an emphasis on fresh produce, outdoor learning, and community engagement, this project is improving the health of our local community from the ground up. The Children’s Kitchen stands as a reminder that with the right tools and support, children can begin to build healthy habits in their formative years to support themselves, and their local food system. 

Feeling Curious? 

  • Keep an eye out via Bristol Good Food 2030, for information about an upcoming project between the Children’s Kitchen and the University of Bristol: Bristol Food Education Charter, a Participatory Research Project that gives a voice to children and young people about their own food education. 

Read Sophie’s interview with Ari Cantwell, Co-Founder of Coexist Community Kitchen to discover how anyone in the city can get involved with Coexist’s work. Plus, also in this series, read Sophie’s story about Migrateful, a community cooking project that goes beyond simply sharing recipes, and find out how you can support this inspiring initiative while expanding your own horizons.

Finally, read Sophie Jackson’s first story on this blog, showcasing community cooking projects across Bristol on the wonderful charity Square Food Foundation.

Join the conversation

So, what change do you want to see happen that will transform food in Bristol by 2030? Do you already have an idea for how Bristol can make this happen? Join the conversation now.

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