Youngsters from Perrott Hill School, Crewkerne, had an extra healthy start to the new term, courtesy of local dairy Coombe Farm Organic and a group of other South West food companies, such as Sharpham Park...
The first two weeks of September are Organic Food Fortnight and Coombe Farm, which is now one of the country's largest organic milk producers, decided to mark it by organising an organic breakfast for the children at Perrott Hill School.
With help from Sharpham, which specialises in growing spelt, an ancient type of wheat, and turning it into stone ground flour and Yeo Valley, the organic dairy company nationally known for its organic yogurts, Fiona Madge, who is one of the Coombe Farm team looking after educational visits to the farm, created a takeway with a difference.
She arranged for the school to be supplied with organic fruit juice, meusli, milk, yogurt and butter, while the Perrott Hill chef, Tony Strugnell, volunteered to create tasty organic rolls and bread using the spelt flour.
The children's verdict? A definite thumbs up for their natural start to the day. Said Fiona Madge: "Recent research showed that one in 20 children don't know where milk comes from and think that cows lay eggs, but the Perrott Hill youngsters are in no doubt at all.
"With a study just carried out for DEFRA showing that food additives can lead to hyperactivity and a reduction in attention, we think it's more important than ever that children have a diet that's as natural as possible and that's what organic food offers.
"Organic Farming is also around 30% more energy-efficient, so the food produced this way isn't just better for the people eating it, it's planet-friendly as well.
"Going to Perrott Hill School with our organic takeaway was a great way to start the day and we enjoyed it as much as the schoolchildren."
