Co-hosted by Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC), Developing the Young Workforce's (DYW) West Lothian regional group, and Lantra Scotland, interactive workshops and talks shed light on career development opportunities and the farm to fork food chain journey.
With employers present from across food development, horticulture and hospitality industries, including BaxterStorey, Dawnfresh and Quality Meat Scotland, the pupils were given a taster of the industry career choices available to them over the next few years.
BaxterStorey Catering Manager at SRUC Oatridge, Gemma Lilgert, said: “It was fantastic to be involved (in the event) and it was a big team effort providing breakfast, lunch and refreshments to attendees, as well as running a stall.
“It was really rewarding being able to talk to the next generation of potential hospitality stars and to share with them how rewarding a career in this industry can be.
“We also had fun with the children, asking them to guess the names of unusual vegetables, which they loved. We had some great answers – some children thought purple potatoes were stones”.
Learning resources manager at SRUC, Des Martin, added: “The Farm to Fork event was an outstanding success.
“Local schoolchildren learned more about the many different industries involved in producing the food that we eat. It was great to see so many youngsters inspired by the range of interactive activities and a huge ‘thank you’ to everyone involved.”