PRIMARY school children have given parents food for thought after presenting their findings on global waste.
Pupils at St Augustine’s Primary School, Darlington, have been examining the issue as part of the Catholic charity Cafod’s Harvest Fast Day.
Parents and families were invited to school to hear about the global inequalities that see this country bin food weighing the equivalent of 200,000 double decker buses while one in eight people in the world go hungry.
Students discovered that 35 per cent of school dinners in England and Wales end up in the bin while tonnes of vegetables are thrown away because they look strange – even though they taste the same.
Pupils have also spent the past three weeks collecting food for members of the community who could be missing out on meals.
They spent the day in fancy dress, as part of The Big Silly Share, to raise more money for the needy including farmers in El Salvador who lose their crops because they don’t have anywhere to store them.
Three brave visitors also endured a blindfold taste test with pupil concoctions including golden syrup and carrot, strawberry jelly and mushy peas and peanut butter and apple.
Year 5 teacher Claire Fairhurst said: “I think we were all shocked to discover how much food is wasted and that often the people who grow the produce miss out the most.
“The campaign has increased all of our awareness and the messages have also gone home so that we can all do our bit to try and put an end to such stark inequalities in the world.”
