Tracing Food – Food Systems Education for Youth

Tracing Food – Food Systems Education for Youth (Safkan jäljillä – Ruokaketju tutuksi nuorille) is a national development project that supports food education by increasing young people’s understanding of food production and the food chain. The project helps pupils see how food is produced, where it comes from and how it is connected to sustainability, health and everyday choices.

Food production and agriculture are currently only briefly covered in basic education. This project addresses that gap by providing reliable, up-to-date and pedagogically suitable content that teachers can easily use in their teaching. The project also highlights the role of local food and the food system as part of society and working life.
The main target groups are pupils in grades 4–6 and lower secondary schools, as well as teachers, guidance counsellors and teacher students. Farmers and local food entrepreneurs are involved as partners, offering practical perspectives and real-world examples.

The project focuses on the following key activities and outputs:

• development of learning materials on food production and the food chain for classroom use
• production of support materials for teachers
• development and piloting of practical models for school excursions to farms and food businesses
• creation of ready-made communication materials to support teaching and excursions
• publication of materials as open educational resources for schools

In addition to educational content, the project places strong emphasis on building regional cooperation networks between schools, farms, food businesses and other food system actors. These networks support collaboration during the project and help ensure that school excursions and cooperation models can continue after the project has ended.

Project title: Safkan jäljillä – Ruokaketju tutuksi nuorille

Project duration:1 October 2024 – 30 September 2026
Funding: The project is funded by the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry through the Finnish Food Authority.
Total budget: 348351,32 €
Implementing organisations:

• Savonia University of Applied Sciences (project coordinator)
• Seinäjoki University of Applied Sciences (SEAMK)
• Jyväskylä University of Applied Sciences
• Koulutuskeskus Brahe