HEALTHY eating is easy for pupils at The Ockendon School thanks to its involvement in the lottery-funded Food for Life (FFL) Partnership.

On Tuesday April 28 the school hosted a conference to celebrate the achievements of all of the schools who have been chosen by the partnership to become Flagship Schools and Communities in the Eastern region.

These schools will be recognised as national leaders on food quality and food education.

Deputy Head and lead on The FFL Partnership, Alison Hutcheson, said: “It is more important than ever before that young people learn in school about the impact of food on their health and that of the planet.

“On current trends, by 2020 over one quarter of children will be obese and children will have a shorter life expectancy than their parents.

“A fifth of our climate change impact comes from the food we eat.

“By becoming a Flagship School, we want to inspire our young people to eat a healthy, climate-friendly diet by giving them an opportunity to see how food is produced and to cook and grow their own.”

The schools participating were taking up the challenge laid down by Jamie Oliver’s school dinners campaign.

The Food for Life Partnership has been funded by the National Lottery over five years from 2007 to help transform food culture in schools across the country.

The Food for Life Partnership will help the school put more fresh, local and organic food on the menu and get students cooking and growing food and visiting local farms.