World Food Day | EYFS & KS1 Activity Ideas

**Note: This page is for educational inspiration and is not officially affiliated with World Food Day. World Food Day is an international day celebrated annually worldwide on October 16th to commemorate the date of the founding of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations in 1945. For official information and to learn more about global food security, please visit the FAO website (www.fao.org/world-food-day).

Understanding World Food Day in EYFS & KS1

Let's celebrate our food! 🍎🥕🍞 World Food Day is an international day celebrated annually worldwide on October 16th. It commemorates the date of the founding of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations in 1945. The day is observed to raise awareness about hunger, malnutrition, and poverty, and to encourage global action towards food security and healthy diets for all. Each year, there's a specific theme, often focusing on sustainable food systems or the role of food in our lives.

For early years settings, nurseries, preschools, childminders, and Year 1 and Year 2 classrooms, this day provides a wonderfully tangible and important theme for exploring healthy eating, where food comes from, food diversity, and sustainability. It's about teaching children to appreciate food, understand the journey from farm to plate, and make healthy choices for their bodies. This day offers fantastic planning ideas and inspiration for engaging activities that truly resonate with young minds, making learning about nutrition, agriculture, and global awareness both delicious and educational.

Why Is Teaching About Food & Healthy Eating Important for Young Children?

Integrating lessons about food and healthy eating into your practice with young children (aged 0-7) is very important for fostering their understanding of their bodies, promoting lifelong healthy habits, and developing an appreciation for the food they eat. Early education in this area lays the foundation for well-being.

• Physical Health: Understanding healthy foods provides the basis for strong bodies and minds.

• Awareness of Origin: Learning where food comes from (farms, gardens) connects children to nature and the hard work involved in food production.

• Sensory Exploration: Food offers rich opportunities for exploring tastes, textures, smells, and colours.

• Diversity & Culture: Discussing different foods from around the world introduces cultural diversity.

• Sustainability: Understanding food waste and the journey of food can lay groundwork for eco-friendly habits.

• Practical Life Skills: Recognising different foods, helping prepare simple snacks, and making healthy choices are essential life skills.

Engaging Food & Healthy Eating Activities for World Food Day (0-7 Year Olds)

Make World Food Day a truly appetising and insightful experience with these planning ideas and activities perfect for EYFS and KS1 children. The focus is on discovery, nutrition, and celebrating food! Many of these early years and year 1 activities can be supported by the extensive range of printable resources we have available on our Food and On the Farm pages.

Here's some inspiration for exploring the wonderful world of food in your setting: (Please use your own discretion and knowledge of your children to ensure appropriateness of each activity and safety concerning any materials given and activity undertaken.)

• Fruit & Vegetable Focus: Dedicate time to exploring different fruits and vegetables. Use our Fruit & Vegetables posters, 'Fruit & Vegetables' banner, Fruit & Vegetables 2-piece puzzles and Fruit & Vegetables size ordering cards.

• "Farm to Plate" Exploration: Discuss where food comes from. Role-play being a farmer using our Farmer pack.

• Healthy Eating Discussions: Talk about balanced diets and what makes a healthy meal. Use Healthy eating - display banner, Healthy plate - balanced diet posters, and 5 a day - poster/chart. Children can also Draw a healthy meal.

• Food Sorting Activities: Sort foods into healthy and unhealthy categories using Healthy & Unhealthy snack sorting activity. Discuss the importance of limiting sugar with 'Don't eat too much sugar!' poster.

• Food Diaries: Encourage children to track the fruits and vegetables they eat using Fruit & Vegetable diary or a more general My healthy eating diary booklet.

• Farm Shop Role-Play: Set up a pretend farm shop or grocery store. Use our Farm shop role-play pack for signs, labels, and price lists. Children can take turns buying and selling healthy foods.

• Food-Themed Numeracy: Engage with numbers using food. Our Fruit & Vegetable number slice puzzles, pom pom mats, number/counting multimats, carrot create & count playdough mats, and tomato create & count playdough mats are excellent for this.

• Sensory Food Exploration: Have children touch, smell, and taste (if appropriate and safe) different fruits and vegetables.

• Food Description Games: Play games where children describe foods using their senses. Use Fruit & Vegetables - description match game/activity.

• Health Professionals Who Help with Food: Briefly mention how doctors and nurses help us stay healthy, and dentists help our teeth, linking to Doctor pack, Nurse pack, Dentist pack, and Optometrist pack.

• Story Time: Food-Themed Books: Read books about healthy eating, farms, or food around the world. Or look at a traditional tale such as The Enormous Turnip.

These activities offer great inspiration for making World Food Day a memorable and impactful experience in your early years and Key Stage One setting, fostering nutrition awareness, environmental understanding, and an appreciation for the global food system.

To explore ideas surrounding additional early years events, please visit our 'Special Dates Calendar' page.

Printable resources to support teaching & learning surrounding: ‘World Food Day’

Additional Pages you may like to explore which cover relevant &/or Connected themes

More Early Years Event Pages for October

Explore special dates (including awareness dates, festivals, celebrations & events) relevant to your EYFS & KS1 children

Browse our ‘Special Dates Calendar’ page using the link below. You’ll find calendars for every month of the year to aid your planning!

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Disclaimer:
This page is for educational purposes only and is intended to support early years and primary practitioners with ideas and resources related to 'World Food Day'. We are not officially affiliated with or endorsed by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations. We do not claim any rights to specific trademarks or official materials associated with this day. For official information and to learn more about global food security, please visit the FAO website at www.fao.org/world-food-day.