A FRESH call by the National Farmers' Union for more British food to be served up to the country's schoolchildren has been backed by a Craven headteacher.

And parents throughout the country want their children's food to be sourced from Britain wherever possible, according to a survey commissioned by the union to mark last week's National School Meals Week.

An overwhelming majority of parents also wanted their children to be taught about how food is produced on a farm, the survey said.

But pupils at Grassington Primary School are ahead of the trend - already all of the meat they eat comes from Yorkshire producers and their fruit and vegetables come from local suppliers wherever possible.

The school recently opened a new 'cooking' kitchen, which has helped the school's cook Amanda Brown to produce a healthy and wide variety of meals.

Headteacher Libby Wheildon said: "Amanda is passionate about using the best ingredients and that means sourcing our food as locally as we can.

"She also uses as much produce grown in the school garden as she can - kale, turnip and cabbage, for example - and you can't get more local than that!

"Classes have also done some work on how food gets to the table, and the children are aware of the impact of the 'carbon footprint' of transporting food."

Mrs Wheildon added that, as a Dales school, everyone was aware of the importance of helping to keep local farmers in business and the school would continue to do everything it could to use local produce.

NFU deputy president Minette Batters said that she was not surprised at the findings of the survey, especially as a mother herself.

She said: "The NFU would encourage head teachers to engage with their catering provider and supply chain to procure more British food, recognised easily by the Red Tractor logo. Parents clearly want to see the information of where the food comes from, and that it is British.

“It’s pleasing to see from the survey that 78 per cent of parents will take up the offer of free school meals that are now available to all pupils up to the age of seven at schools across England. This is a great opportunity for school caterers and all those involved in the supply chain to back British farming, and procure more seasonal local and British food.

“We believe that knowing how food is grown, reared and processed is an important element of children’s food education. With food and farming now part of the school curriculum, we would urge teachers to connect with organisations such as Farming and Countryside Education (FACE) to organise on farm educational visits where pupils will be able to understand the work that goes into producing top quality British food.

“The NFU has been working hard for change and is committed to being part of the independent School Food Plan. We will continue to play our part in ensuring schools source more British food and helping to focus ideas to provide a strong platform to build a bright future for our children – not just for lunch but through cooking and food education.”