Seafish has launched its first-ever school program to reinforce its work to educate children on the benefits of eating seafood and address the lack of formal framework for nutrition education in schools.
Seafish is working with a range of seafood industry partners, such as Young's Seafood to pilot the project in North Lincolnshire, before rolling it out to the rest of the U.K. later in the year.
The initiative has been designed to encourage children aged 3 to 5 to discover more about seafood and encourage them embrace fish and shellfish as part of a healthy, balanced diet. Thirty-five schools throughout North Lincolnshire have already signed up to the program, reaching approximately 2,970 pupils.
Schools and local groups who participate in the trials will be issued with resources, information and activities that they will need to deliver the program in a fun and engaging way. Industry partners will work with schools and groups local to them to enhance learning through visits, expert advice and practical, hands-on, hosted activities.
“As an ambassador within our industry it was a pleasure to be involved in this school initiative run by Seafish. The children of today are not only eating fish today but also they are our consumers of the future and so encouraging them with interactive seafood sessions is developing our future seafood connoisseur within the retail market,” said Duncan Lucas, Young’s seafood specialist who led the seafood lesson at one school. “It was a great experience to see the children interested in fish and making a lovely fish pie to take home. The key message was healthy eating supported by eating fish twice a week and it was encouraging to see the children explain this to the teachers and press after the event.”
