School dinners discovery

By Sarah Newstead

Last updated 05:39, Friday, 17 October 2008

THREE schoolgirls who tracked how far their lunch travelled, from farm to plate, bowled over judges at the Food and Farming challenge.

The girls from Silloth’s Solway Community Technology College scooped a highly commended award at the Specialist Schools and Academy Trust’s (SSAT) national competition.

Bethan Kendal, 15, Jaqueline Humm, 15, and Bronwyn Kendal, 14, took to the road to produce their winning video project.

They selected three ingredients from their school lunch – potatoes, minced beef and soft flour – and found out the journey from field and farm to cottage pie and cookies.

Their investigations took them to nearby Armstrong’s Farm for potatoes and Lesson Hill Farm to learn how beef cattle are reared.

Next they visited Aikton abattoir and Harrison’s butchers in Wigton where school cook, Angela Hoodless, buys the meat.

They then headed to Swinsty Farm in Abbeytown where wheat is grown and on to Carrs Mill for the soft flour.

Bethan said: “People take it for granted that the food is there. I now think about where it all comes from.”

Head of technology at the Silloth school, Julia Cooper, said the girls worked day and night to ensure their project was of a winning standard.