Brand-new food share programme opens at Ysgol Gymraeg Dewi Sant

PUPILS, teachers and staff at Ysgol Gymraeg Dewi Sant have officially opened a brand-new food share programme known as Bocs Bwyd (food box).

Ysgol Gymraeg Dewi Sant’s garden is currently supporting pupils in their understanding and knowledge of healthy and nutritional food. The Bocs Bwyd scheme will include produce from their garden which will be available to the local community. This will ensure the Bocs Bwyd scheme, supports the school to extend its package of support to parents and continue to develop its role within the community.

During the exciting process of preparing the Bocs Bwyd garden, pupils collaborated with local graffiti artist ‘Jenks’ to transform a shipping container into a colourful Bocs Bwyd shop.

In line with Ysgol Dewi Sant’s curriculum, pupils access weekly sessions in the school garden where they grow, maintain and prepare produce for the Bocs Bwyd scheme.

Castell Howell will be generously supporting the scheme by donating food to the school’s Bocs Bwyd scheme on a weekly basis.

Ysgol Dewi Sant’s Bocs Bwyd will initially open twice a week for people from the community to come and ‘pay as they wish’ for the produce.

Bocs Bwyd Opening Times:

Monday – 3:15pm-4pm

Thursday – 3:15pm-4pm

The Big Bocs Bwyd project is a Welsh Government funded scheme that provides valuable connections with the local community and supports the development of food literacy in schools.

The initiative supports the Council’s ambition to become a net-zero local authority by significantly reducing the food miles of produce, from field to fork, that is available to its communities. Bocs Bwyd projects have also been introduced at Ysgol Bro Banw and Ysgol Llandeilo whilst a fourth scheme is due to be rolled out at Ysgol Trimsaran.

The introduction of the Bocs Bwyd scheme aligns with Carmarthenshire County Council’s Well-being Objective 1, which is to enable our children and young people to have the best possible start in life; and Well-being Objective 3, to enable our communities and environment to be healthy, safe and prosperous.

Mrs Helen Garland, Interim Headteacher at Ysgol Gymraeg Dewi Sant said: “We look forward to supporting our families and the wider community as the pupils learn valuable life skills.

Carmarthenshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Climate Change, Decarbonisation and Sustainability – Cllr Aled Vaughan Owen said: “It’s brilliant to see our children, the future of Carmarthenshire, learn first-hand of the importance of healthy and nutritional food and how it can be produced sustainably and for the benefit of the local community.

“As a Cabinet, we have committed to work with our schools to educate learners about food production and how to cook healthy meals using local produce – and the Bocs Bwyd scheme is an excellent scheme to help us achieve this.”

Carmarthenshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Education and Welsh Language – Cllr Glynog Davies said: “The aim of the Bocs Bwyd scheme is to develop food literacy in our schools and thus ensure that our children are healthy and confident individuals who are ethically informed to make good food choices for the future.

“With families across the country having to watch how every penny is spent, initiatives such as the Bocs Bwyd are incredibly valuable as they allow a school to extend its package of support to parents and continue to develop its role within the community.”