Best Food Forward

17/07/2026

Last week, we published A Central Ingredient, our new report on the role food education can play in supporting pupil outcomes.

The message from schools is clear.

When pupils can ‘Learn it, See it, Live it’, food education can support more than cooking skills and nutrition knowledge.

It can help pupils build confidence, experience success, work with others and feel more connected to school.

As one school put it:

“They take real pride in what they’ve done, and that ripple then cascades into other subject areas and just their general sense of confidence, belonging, belief.”

At a time of reform across school food, curriculum and accountability, good food education is a central ingredient in ensuring children thrive. It's time to unlock its potential.

Read A Central Ingredient

https://www.bestfoodforward.co.uk/a-central-ingredient-report

09/07/2026

A Central Ingredient: Our New Report Shows Food Education Is Essential to Helping Children Thrive

Read more on our blog 📑

Schools delivering high-quality food education report benefits that extend far beyond cooking skills, supporting attendance, behaviour, wellbeing, belonging and attainment.Today, we published A Central Ingredient: The Role of Food Education in Supporting Pupil Outcomes, a new research report looking...

06/07/2026

Food education supports attendance, behaviour, wellbeing, belonging, and so much more.

That's what schools told us in ‘A Central Ingredient’, our new report on the difference strong food education makes to pupils.

It shows what happens when schools make food education a real priority.

Schools told us it's powerful:

"We know that engagement in a high-quality food curriculum that goes beyond the bounds of a classroom has a positive impact on children being safe, happy, and healthy."

But it's being squeezed out just when the case for it grows strongest.

Read A Central Ingredient and find out that good food education is a central ingredient in ensuring children thrive. It's time to unlock its potential.

Link in bio 🔗

15/04/2026

Parents and young people agree: food education is a skill for life.

On 29 April, we are hosting a webinar exploring what parents and pupils want from food education, and what this means in practice.

Drawing on Hungry for Change, with polling conducted by Public First, the session will look at the gap between strong public support and uneven delivery across the system.

Fewer than half of young people receive dedicated curriculum time. Access declines with age, and varies by income, school type, and region.

As investment in school food expands, there is a real opportunity to ensure food education is part of that picture.
Join us to explore what needs to change.
📅 Wednesday 29 April 🕒 3:00pm to 3:45pm 📍 Online
Register here: 3e1847a6-7382-4202-aba2-2612b5425fdb@69e60322-6e5f-4ac2-a963-93c29d2e7ba7" rel="ugc" target="_blank">https://events.teams.microsoft.com/event/3e1847a6-7382-4202-aba2-2612b5425fdb@69e60322-6e5f-4ac2-a963-93c29d2e7ba7

15/04/2026

Join our Best Food Forward programme 2026-27 at The School of Artisan Food to enhance your school’s food learning, free of charge.

Best Food Forward is a fully-funded food education programme supporting secondary schools with evidence-based information, intracurricular health and well-being content, and practical food skills experience days.

We are looking to partner with a number of local secondary schools across Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire and South Yorkshire.

Cost for partnered schools is FREE

Applications are open until Friday 8th May 2026

More details on the website. Link in bio 🔗

19/03/2026

Join our Best Food Forward programme 2026-27 at The School of Artisan Food to support your school’s food learning, free of charge.

Best Food Forward is a funded food education programme at The School of Artisan Food which supports secondary schools with evidence-based information, intracurricular health and well-being content, and practical food skills drop-down experience days.

We are looking to partner with a number of secondary schools in Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire and South Yorkshire.

Cost for partnered schools is free
Applications are open until 10th April 2025.

More details: https://www.bestfoodforward.co.uk/post/best-food-forward-partnership-programme-2026-27

24/02/2026

Yesterday, we launched Hungry for Change.

What it shows about food education in England should stop us in our tracks.
97% of parents and 91% of young people say cooking is an important or essential life skill, but access is anything but assured.

The inequality gap:

Children from the least affluent households are almost 25 percentage points less likely to receive dedicated food education than those from richer households.

State comprehensive pupils are 24 percentage points less likely than private school pupils.

58% of pupils in London receive food education. In Yorkshire and the Humber, it is just 40%.

The post-16 cliff edge

Access drops from 56% at ages 11 to 12 to just 32% by ages 17 to 18.
Just as independence increases, provision disappears.

The confidence gap
Only 22% of parents believe children nationally can cook well from fresh ingredients.

Taken together, we have strong public support and clear inequality in provision.

As government investment in school food expands, one thing is clear:
Food without education will not build a food secure generation.

Read Hungry for Change.
https://www.bestfoodforward.co.uk/hungry-for-change-report

23/02/2026

97% of parents say cooking is an essential life skill, but fewer than half of young people get dedicated food education in school.

Our new report 'Hungry for Change' explains why this matters, and what must happen next.

Image source: SOLSTOCK/ISTOCK

23/02/2026

Parents and young people agree: food education is a skill for life.

Today we are publishing Hungry for Change, new national polling with over 2,000 parents and 2,000 young people aged 11 to 18.

The findings are clear. Cooking healthy meals and making good food choices are seen as essential life skills, comparable to digital literacy and vital for independence in adult life. Yet fewer than half of young people report receiving dedicated curriculum time for food education. Access declines with age and varies significantly by income, school type, and region.

At a time when government investment in school food is expanding through breakfast clubs and free school meal reform, this creates an important opportunity. But without high quality food education embedded alongside provision, the long-term benefits of that investment will not be realised.

Food provision alone is not enough. Young people need the skills, confidence, and practical experience to cook from fresh ingredients and apply what they learn in real life.

Do you think food education should be prioritised in schools?

Read Hungry for Change here: https://www.bestfoodforward.co.uk/hungry-for-change-report

04/02/2026

A fantastic final learning session with students from Meden School.
These sessions have been a really positive and successful experience, with students showing growing confidence, curiosity and enthusiasm around food.

For the last session, our Food Education Specialist, Lianna, showed students how to prepare burgers - and the energy in the room was amazing. Lots of excitement, hands-on learning and proud moments all round.

A brilliant way to wrap up our time together.