Improve food and drink sector skills council

Citation

(2008), "Improve food and drink sector skills council", Nutrition & Food Science, Vol. 38 No. 2. https://doi.org/10.1108/nfs.2008.01738bab.030

Improve food and drink sector skills council

Article Type: Food facts From: Nutrition

School pupils across England will have the opportunity to undertake a new scheme designed to boost the numbers of young people choosing a career in food and drink.

From January, Improve, the food and drink sector skills council, offers teachers free resources to help them carry out the Schools Food and Drink Challenge. The scheme, which was originally developed by Scottish Enterprise before being successfully adopted by some schools in England, has been re-developed to be more flexible and accessible, extending its reach to a greater number of young people.

The challenge will see students inventing a new food or drink product, choosing from a muffin, sandwich, pizza or smoothie. They will have to consider the whole process from development through to launch, including choosing ingredients, selecting a target audience, creating a marketing campaign, budgeting, and, if the school has the facilities, making their finished product. The day-long challenge will culminate in a trade fair, with teams presenting their work to a panel of judges. Two challenges have been developed for different age groups one for final year primary pupils, aged 10 and 11, and one targeted at secondary school students aged 14-16. A communications campaign will target schools, inviting teachers to claim the free resource, which comprises a CD Rom and supporting materials, and informing them of the benefits of the challenge.