Young farmers are encouraging the public to shop locally and to do more cooking from scratch in a bid to improve health, reduce food miles and support British farming.
The #HomeGrown campaign message about food and farming is being shared by the National Federation of Young Farmers’ Clubs (NFYFC) at the start of National Young Farmers’ Week.
Between 17-21 October, YFCs are being tasked with hosting community events that celebrate farmers and sharing dishes cooked by rural young people.
YFC members across England and Wales have also been challenged with sharing cookery videos on social media to encourage more young people to cook local food.
NFYFC said its campaign supported the government’s National Food Strategy as it aims to improve young people’s cookery skills and their understanding of local food.
It comes after County Chairs gathered in Bristol over the weekend to discuss plans for their year in office and to kick start the campaign.
NFYFC Chair Ed Dungait said: “YFC members voted at at the AGM to promote British food and farming, and the #HomeGrown campaign is a positive way for us to do that.
“We asked our County Chairs to bring regional produce with them to our conference in Bristol so we could showcase British produce from across England and Wales."
NFYFC President Nigel Owens MBE added that the #HomeGrown campaign was an opportunity for YFCs to show the benefits of sourcing local produce.
“I’m proud to represent an organisation of young people who are passionate about British food and farming," he added.
"NFYFC’s competitions and training programmes support the development of skills in cookery and agriculture as well as improve understanding about sustainable food."
NFYFC is also re-launching its Food4Thought training module for club members to learn more about food waste and what dishes can be made using leftovers.
