School serves venison to teach ‘farm to fork’ eating

A dyslexia school in Staffordshire is helping children to learn about farming and food production by serving venison harvested from deer on the grounds. 

Maple Hayes Hall School in Lichfield bought an adjoining farm shortly after it opened in 1982 and, in a bid to boost sustainability, the venison is sourced from the 200- acre estate. The school said serving venison made sense and offered the chance to teach pupils about the “farm to fork” journey. 

Co-principal Dr Daryl Brown explained that rearing the deer did not take much effort so adding venison to the menu was “quite logical”. 

Louisa Clutterbuck, Eat Wild CEO, said: “While we always encourage people to choose wild venison, it is excellent to hear that children are being educated on where their food comes from and can be directly involved in the supply chain. 

“Farmed venison offers many of the same benefits as wild venison, and it is heartening to hear that the children are enjoying it immensely. Our belief is that by introducing children to game meat early in life, we cultivate a lifelong appreciation and preference for it,”she added.