Farming and processing (5-7 Years)

Activity 1 - Food is changed from ‘farm to fork’ to make it safe to eat

Show children the Can I eat it? presentation.

Use the presentation to help children understand that we cannot eat food straight from its source, e.g. farm, sea, it has to be changed in some way. Sometimes it is just changed in a small way, such as being washed or peeled. Sometimes it has to be cooked or treated.  Establish that these changes are made to make food safe to eat.

Give children the What’s changed? cards. The children can cut out, match and stick the foods in their books. They can then write a few words to describe what has changed for each food.

Answers:

• Broccoli: pick, cut, wash cook;
• Potatoes: wash, cook;
• Cucumber: pick, wash, cut;
• Chicken: cook;
• Beef: shape, cook;
• Strawberries: pick, wash, cut;
• Cod: cut, coat (with breadcrumbs), cook.
   

Activity 2 - ‘Farm to fork’ stages for some basic foods

Show the From wheat to bread, Cheese making and Milking videos and, in simple terms, talk about the different stages the food goes through before it can be eaten.

Show children the 'Journey' cards in the Farm to fork area below. Explain that they need to sequence the cards to show the different steps, from farm to fork, for different types of foods. Demonstrate the activity to the children.

Cards for the following foods include:

• cereals
• milk
• potatoes
• lamb
• apples
• eggs

Allow the children to work through this activity individually.

Recap with the children.

• Can we always eat food straight from a farm? 
• Why not?

Before we eat food it has to be changed.  Sometimes this might simply mean washing it, but it can also include cutting, milling, cooking and heat treating.

What happens to some of our foods before we eat them?

• Carrots in the ground;
• Wheat in the field;
• Milk from a cow.

 Further activities

Organise a cooking session with the children to reinforce the changes food goes through before it is eaten.  For example, you could make some Soda bread to show how flour can be used after it has been produced from wheat.  Use the Soda bread video and Soda bread recipe to show children how it is done. 
You could also show other videos and their accompanying recipes as examples of dishes using foods the children have been learning about:

• Welsh rarebit video – cheese
• Crunchy winter salad video – carrot and apple

Why not organise a farm visit?

Visiting a farm is a great way for children to see first-hand where their food comes from. For more information and to find farms to visit, go to Countryside Classroom.

Reviewed 3.5.23