The Potato Story - Food for Thought: Plugging kids' food knowledge gap
February 2009
McCain hits the road to plug kids' food knowledge gap as a survey* shows that one in 10 seven – 11 year old think that chicken lay potatoes.
Around a fifth of those questioned also had no idea that potatoes are grown in the ground and that chips are made from the humble spud.
Having discovered the shocking truth about how little kids know when it comes to food provenance, McCain has extended its educational and unbranded project called 'The Potato Story' to help close this knowledge gap.
'The Potato Story' bus tour began back in 2006 in response to a survey by the British Heart Foundation** that revealed one in three kids didn't know where potatoes came from.
McCain created the purpose-built, unbranded, double-decker bus to link with schools and help educate children aged seven – 11 year olds about where their food comes from.
Now part of a wider campaign by McCain called 'It's all good', 'The Potato Story' highlights the company's long term commitment to educating kids on food provenance.
Embarking on its fifth tour in September 2009, 'The Potato Story' bus has to date visited over 130 UK primary schools, reaching out to in excess of 17,400 primary school pupils – but still has plenty more stops to make…
Dr Richard Woolfson, a prominent child psychologist, says of the bus: "Lack of understanding of food and a misunderstanding of what constitutes 'healthy food' may have a serious impact on the eating habits of children in the future. Food provenance is a big part of this, as it's very important that children learn where their food comes from in order for them to develop healthy eating habits from an early age."
Nick Vermont, CEO, McCain Foods (GB) Ltd says: "'The Potato Story' was developed as a vehicle with which we could help teach children about food provenance. As part of our 'It's all good' campaign, we are committed to working hard to ensure that 'The Potato Story' is, and remains, both relevant to the curriculum and useful for teachers to educate children, while also making it a fun and interactive experience for the kids."
For more information visit www.thepotatostory.co.uk
Click here to view the survey results
Note to Editors:
*McCain "Food for thought" surveyed 1,500 children aged between 7 and 11 in February 2009
**The British Heart Foundation survey was carried out by TNS in October 2005
[Ends]