Hands in socks feeling lemons. Sniffing smell jars. A taste of TastEd training with Eat Smart Sheffield…

For the last 3 years, TastEd has enjoyed working closely with both Eat Smart Sheffield and Food For Life, albeit separately. But earlier this year we were thrilled to collaborate on a project offering TastEd training as part of the Eat Smart Sheffield and Food For Life collaboration. TastEd is already available to all Food For Life schools and nurseries free of charge, so we were thrilled to be invited to support Sheffield in its aims to Eat Smart with TastEd training. 

TastEd’s Educational Consultant Ruth Platt and Teacher Trainer Kelly Robinson ran workshops for 35 teaching staff from across the city, giving them a taste of how schools can use sensory food education to help children develop a love for eating fruit and vegetables. Sharing the history of the TastEd approach, beginning in France in the 1970’s, the principles of “no one has to try” and “no one has to like” and how TastEd lessons work, the session culminated on sensory food activities. 

Experiencing TastEd, hands on, is the best way to fully understand the simplicity and magic of sensory food education. It is just as powerful an experience for adults, as it is for children.  Teaching staff squeezed their hands into socks, and described what they felt, curious to know what was hidden inside. They tried simply looking at a few different apples, to engage their sense of sight and mindfully examine the differences and similarities, before trying each type and realising how different they taste. 

The simplicity of TastEd activities, coupled with the comprehensive resources such as training videos, lesson plans, and powerpoint slides really demonstrated how straightforward food education can be. As one participant commented: “The resources are so comprehensive, and the approach is so simple, I could get a supply teacher to pick this up and teach it. But its too fun to do that!”. 

Feedback is vital to helping TastEd grow, so we are excited to learn more about food education in Sheffield schools. As part of our partnership, TastEd, Food for Life and Eat Smart Sheffield are collaborating on some research, so we look forward to seeing how Sheffield schools use TastEd to drive their programme and their Food For Life achievements forward.

By Kim Smith, Trustee and Co-Chair at TastEd