Pancake Day came unexpectedly early for the 1,200 children who enjoyed the recent Food Story event organised by the Pembrokeshire Agricultural Society (PAS).

During the two-day event, the youngsters, aged from five to 16, leant how pancake ingredients are produced locally.

And they also enjoyed mixing pancake batter and eating pancakes with locally produced toppings with the assistance of chefs from Castell Howell.

Hands-on demonstrations

During the Food Story/Stori Bwyd event at the Pembrokeshire County Showground, arable, dairy, pig, sheep and poultry farmers, as well as honey producers, from all over the county, volunteered their time to talk to the children and give hands-on demonstrations.

They explained to the children how they produce the ingredients for their pancakes ahead of Pancake Day, and demonstrated how they farm sustainably and care for the countryside.

Western Telegraph: Year 2 Ysgol Bro Ingli got h ands-on under the supervision of farmer Walter Simon.Year 2 Ysgol Bro Ingli got h ands-on under the supervision of farmer Walter Simon. (Image: Pembrokeshire Agricultural Society)

Seeing first-hand

The school and home-educated children were also able to look at farm machinery and live animals to see first-hand what is used to produce their food.

The event was organised on behalf of the PAS by former teacher Kathy Wilson, who is now an honorary Pembrokeshire Show governor.

She said: “I would like to say a massive thank you to each and every one of the volunteers who took two days out from their busy work on the farm to come and talk to the children and demonstrate how they produce food and drink.

'The smiles said it all'

“The smiles on the faces of the children said it all, - they listened intently, enthusiastically took part in the demonstrations and the teachers took resources back with them to their schools to continue the learning.

“One of the important elements of Pembrokeshire Agricultural Society’s work is educational and spreading the word around the county about how local food is produced by farmers.

“Everyone enjoyed eating the pancakes after they had learnt that the ingredients are produced by the farmers they met during their visit.”

Healthy eating

As well as food production, the event was an opportunity to teach the children about the seasonality of what farmers produce locally and how the weather and climate affects the work farmers do, as well as the different food groups and healthy eating.

Pupils from over 30 schools and colleges took up the opportunity to attend the event. These ranged from progression step 1 up to BTEC in Agriculture students.

Financial support came from NFU Mutual, the CLA Charitable Trust and Women in Wales, while educational resources for the schools and pupils were provided by the NFU, the FUW, Wynnstay, CCF and Lantra.