At the heart of the Campaign is the drive to:
- Ensure cooking is at the core of food education;
- Improve food teacher training;
- Improve food teaching facilities in schools;
- Implement a whole-school approach to food in all schools;
- Make food education compulsory in all primary and secondary schools.
- Support cooking in the wider community.
The Focus on Food Campaign was set up against a background of a national decline in cooking ability and teaching coupled with rising health problems caused by poor diet and lack of food knowledge and skills.
Cooking is a key life skill which everyone deserves to be taught well. Unless people learn to cook they cannot successfully make healthy eating choices and take full control of their food lives. It is not taught by all schools. With increasing obesity among young people and the emphasis on healthy eating and whole-school approaches to food in schools the Focus on Food Campaign maintains that the diet and health of the nation will not change significantly unless people are taught the basic skills to cook tasty meals from fresh ingredients. Children should learn to cook at school. Teachers need quality training and the resources to teach it well.
Any school can join the Campaign by registering FREE to support Focus on Food and its aims. Registering will bring access to quality teaching resources including our publication COOK SCHOOL and the chance to apply for a Cooking Bus visit. In return we will ask schools to complete a simple survey once a year. Cooking Buses generally work within schools during term time but during holidays they support cooking activities in the community and any group can apply for a visit >
Focus on Food’s COOK SCHOOL magazine is the Campaign's major printed teaching resource. Published twice a year, the magazine is aimed at enhancing primary and secondary teachers' knowledge and understanding of food, and at improving the teaching of cooking skills and food knowledge. COOK SCHOOL can also be successfully used by health professionals, nutrition groups and parents who wish to support the learning and understanding - and vital importance - of cooking in the curriculum. COOK SCHOOL magazine is available on subscription of £20 per year for two copies including postage and packing. Extra copies and back issues can be ordered. Any individual or organization can buy COOK SCHOOL magazine for £12.50 per copy plus £1.50 for postage and packing.
Since it was founded in 1998 Focus on Food has enjoyed the active support of most the the UK’s leading cooks and chefs and its activities have attracted continuous public interest and extensive media coverage. Click here for History >
Alongside delivering practical cooking lessons in the community and producing quality teaching materials and tried and tested recipes the Focus on Food Campaign continues to lobby for better food teaching within schools.