Young people are growing up in an urbanised world where ingredients appear “magically” on a supermarket shelf and meals come in packets or are served instantaneously by fast-food chains. Supermarkets, meanwhile, peddle the fantasy that there is no downside to the plethora of cheap food from faraway places.
How those ingredients arrive here is little known; what those meals contain is mysterious. In this climate, children lose a sense of the journey food makes from field to plate, its value and priority is diminished, and the act of eating becomes casual or throwaway.
It is young adults of school age, who are just beginning to control their own budget and diet, who are most vulnerable to “bad” food choices. If they have no cooking skills, solutions to the problem of feeding themselves will narrow.
Our challenge is to radically change the attitude of the young towards food: to educate as to its dangers and delights, and to reconnect them to a healthy diet, away from processed foods.
Cooking is a crucial life skill, and to really know what is in a dish you must cook it. Confidence is key in the kitchen, and it is boosted by direct experience of food provenance and production.
Creating thoughtful cooks
Our Root Camp social enterprise, for example, takes young people into rural locations - in Scotland, on the Isle of Bute - away from the pressures of academic achievement, electronic devices and urban life. They spend half their time cooking and the other half working outside: farming, foraging, fishing, pressing apples, skinning rabbits, plucking pheasants and working alongside people whose lives are spent producing food.
This transforms the experience into something far greater than learning how to cook. It is about sourcing, transparency and accumulating knowledge through proximity, working in teams and socialising around a long table, which is adorned with platters of delicious food.
These are powerful ways in which educators can create more thoughtful cooks and consumers. The effect of such a hands-on approach is striking: a carrot picked straight from the earth is exciting; a home-cooked meal around a table is joyful; cooking from scratch is empowering. These experiences infuse the shyest of participants with enduring confidence, put young people in charge of their health and provide essential tools for a truly independent life.
Our social enterprise and community is a mixed one, fed by a bursary scheme that promotes inclusion for all. To tackle, say, obesity it is vital that we educate everyone, no matter their economic situation. Food can break down boundaries that create social ignorance and intolerance. Cooking and eating together forms a level playing field on which young people can exchange experiences, build strong relationships and find opportunities.
In this way, we can all help young people to diminish the distance between urban and rural experiences - and understand the true value of eating well.
Cassia Kidron is the founder of Root Camp
