The government is being urged to develop a national food literacy strategy.

Airfield Estate, Dublin's working farm and food education charity, is calling for this to help equip children with the knowledge, skills and understanding they need to make informed food choices and build a stronger connection with food. 

This comes as new research commissioned by Airfield Estate found that 89.5% of parents and teachers surveyed believe many children are disconnected from how food is grown, produced and prepared.

This highlights growing concern about young people's understanding of food, farming and sustainability. 

Forum

Airfield Estate is making the call today at its inaugural Food Literacy Forum, which brings together educators, policymakers, researchers, NGOs and food sector stakeholders to explore how Ireland can build a more food-literate society.

The forum is intended to become an annual platform for collaboration, research sharing and policy discussion, helping to ensure food literacy remains a national priority. 

Airfield Estate said it believes food literacy should be recognised as an essential life skill, alongside areas such as numeracy and digital literacy.

The organisation is calling on government, education, health, agriculture, environmental and community stakeholders to work together to develop a coordinated national approach.

Disconnect

Airfield Estate CEO Claire Mac Evilly said: "Our research shows a clear concern among parents and teachers that children are becoming disconnected from where their food comes from.

"At Airfield, we see every day how hands on experiences such as growing, preparing and understanding food can transform children's knowledge, confidence and relationship with food.

"A National Food Literacy Strategy would provide a shared framework to connect and strengthen these efforts, ensuring every child has the opportunity to develop the food knowledge and life skills they need for the future."

Research

The research presented at the forum found overwhelming support for a broader approach to food education that extends beyond nutrition to include food origins, sustainability, cooking skills, food systems and informed food choices.

The findings also highlighted strong support for experiential learning, with respondents identifying activities such as growing food, cooking, visiting farms and engaging directly with food production as among the most effective ways for children to learn about food. 

Key research findings include that 94.9% agree children need a better understanding of where food comes from and 97.5% agree food education is as important as other areas of health education.

97.7% of survey respondents agree food literacy should include sustainability and environmental topics. 

99.4% agree children learn more effectively about food through hands-on, practical experiences, and 70% of parents believe children are not receiving enough education about food in primary school.