Letchworth schools get tickled salmon pink with home economist Kate Snow

Two Letchworth primary schools - Garden City Academy and St Thomas More Primary - have been at the centre of a sustainability campaign to educate and inspire consumers to eat more sustainably sourced seafood.

This included engaging with the youngest members of the local community, and tickling their tastebuds with a fun, informative and tasty lesson through the initiative with Seafood from Norway.

Home Economist Kate Snow, who works with the UK Government on the EATWELL Programme and teaches the food group section of the national curriculum across the UK, inspired pupils – aged between nine and 11 years old – by cooking with Norwegian cod and salmon; teaching them about the nutritional and health benefits of fish and seafood and educating them about its sustainability.

"This has been an exciting opportunity to go into schools, educate and get children cooking – which is key to getting them to enjoy their food. My courses involved practical cooking, a presentation of different fish varieties and an introduction to the UK government's dietary advice about eating fish and seafood twice a week," says Ms Snow. "The children got to learn about sustainable fish and seafood and why the vitamins, minerals, proteins and omega fats in fish are so important for our health."

Inspired by Fiskesprell

In June, Ms Snow visited Norway to attend a Fiskesprell course in Sjøskogbekken FUS kindergarten at Ranheim outside Trondheim, led by chef Rune Sandø. Over the course of three hours, he introduced curious four and five-year-old children to the main fish species and taught them to cut vegetables and make fish fingers.

Fiskesprell is a national diet programme that aims to increase seafood consumption among children and younger people. This group tends to eat less fish and seafood than is recommended by the health authorities, therefore is at risk of missing out on the important health benefits.

"It was inspiring to see how the children contributed, and I was very excited about the Fiskesprell concept," says Ms Snow. "Although I didn't understand what was being said, it was easy to look at the faces of the children that they were very enthusiastic!

"The way they made fish fingers was brilliant, and I have brought this back to the UK to use in my taco dishes. I also introduced a geography section so that the pupils could get an understanding of where Norway is, and the connection the country has to the UK."

Lack of food knowledge

Ms Snow points to a lack of food knowledge in British households as one of the challenges when it comes to seafood, saying that many people don't know how to cook fish. "On my courses I deliberately choose recipes that are healthy and easy to prepare. The children get an educational pack with recipes, fun facts, and information that they can take home to encourage them to share what they have learnt with their parents," she adds.

Garden City Academy Yr 6 Teacher, Gary Bryan commented: "The children were fascinated by the lesson. Cooking with food really inspires their imaginations and it was a fantastic way to demonstrate how they could be making healthier choices – and helping with the cooking - at home. Kate even brought in a whole Norwegian salmon as a multi-sensory experience for the children. Many have never seen a fish like this before and was a moment they talked about for a long time after!"

Blue is the new Green

Hans Frode Kielland Asmyhr, UK director Norwegian Seafood Council concludes: "Sustainably caught or produced fish and seafood generally have a very low carbon footprint, and so many of us can benefit from making some seafood swaps, not just for our own health, but also for the health of the planet.

"Over the course of June, we held a series of events across Letchworth, to help tell locals that it is time to make room for blue in a green diet! This schools' activity is a very important part of this education, which is all about making fish a bigger part of a shift to healthier and more sustainable diets."

Twinned with Kristiansand in Norway, Letchworth, was chosen as the pilot site in the UK for Seafood from Norway to launch its sustainability campaign, aimed at demonstrating how sustainably sourced seafood can play a part in helping to meet the world's growing food demand.

According to The Blue Food Assessment, sustainably caught or produced seafood has a lower environmental footprint than many land-based animal-sourced foods. The benefits of sustainable seafood therefore extend beyond our own health and nutritional advantages, but also for the good of the planet. Furthermore, the United Nations states we need to produce 70% more food to meet dietary needs in 2050. Land-based agriculture cannot meet these requirements alone, and we need to look to alternatives. If managed responsibly, the oceans can provide over six times more food than they do today.