A key group that influences all consumer activity is often called ‘pester power’ or children. Traditionally, farmers have been wary of allowing children on to the farm for safety reasons, but the modern culinary tourist wants the farmer to engage with the whole family. Children are now an important group that need to be catered for. Children are the future. The more business operators can engage children in the food chain, the more secure is their future.
Food tourism must engage the younger population, if children are en- gaged and enjoying themselves then their parents are relaxed and enjoying themselves.
This means a number of different business strategies need to be considered. Make the business child-friendly
Before opening the door to the public, a business owner needs to ask a key question, ‘Is the business child-friendly?’
The challenge here is that everyone’s perception of child-friendly is dif- ferent. For example, in a restaurant one family will perceive it to be friendly if the children are served a meal before the adults, whereas another family may believe it is a more inclusive environment if all the family are served at once. The key of course is for the wait staff to ask the preference for each family.
Remember, legally the business owner is responsible for the safety of all people on the premises. If the business has a children’s play area, and it should have one, then loose toys, pencils and books can become a potential hazard.
The key is to make sure children are entertained. This can be by con- structing a fully developed play area outdoors or supplying colouring-in books and pencils at a table. Or even more importantly getting children engaged in cooking using local foods. A pizza restaurant we visited in the outskirts of Johannesburg in South Africa has a pizza night for children on a Friday evening. Parents are encouraged to leave their children in a designated area where a team of young waiters and trainee young chefs make pizza with the children. They then serve those pizzas to their parents who have been seated next door enjoying a wine while they watch their children cook.
When developing your facility remember parents are well practised at scanning a facility to see if it is a child-safe facility before they decide to stay or leave. Uncovered electrical sockets, loose cables and slippery floors are quickly observed and all need to be avoided if you are a child-friendly business.
Is the business engaged with a local school as a partner?
Part of the success of food tourism is engagement, both within the business and outside of the business. This is especially true when it comes to children and getting them engaged in farm activities.
Many children today have never been to a farm before, have no idea how food is produced and do not know how it is grown. In fact many chil- dren suffer from what Richard Louv called nature-deficit disorder. This was explained exceptionally well in his must-read book Last Child in the Woods.6 In Richard Louv’s book he explains that when he was a child he was en- couraged and allowed to play outside and, for example, climb trees. Today’s children are often told that being adventurous can be dangerous and they spend more of their leisure time in front of the computer screen rather than in the countryside. The result is a now recognized problem called ‘nature-deficit disorder’.
Involving children with a farm business at a school level helps children understand the value of food production and will encourage them to talk to, and hopefully get their parents involved in food experimentation. There are a number of examples of how this works. One is ‘Farmers in the Playground, Growing Gardeners and Healthy Eaters’. This is a Canadian development by the Common Roots Food Collective under the slogan: ‘Dirt makes you grow!’ Their Facebook page7 provides an explanation of their activities. Local farmers setting up and supervising vegetable gardens in schools creates valuable connections between communities and farms.
Develop a Kids Growing Magazine
It is impractical for many individual facilities to develop a children’s maga- zine, but an association of growers could develop a culinary magazine and may want to work with a business or group of businesses to develop such a magazine.
This could include activities in which children can become involved, such as beet face painting, pumpkin carving or how to grow carrots. The Nursery and Garden Industry Association of New Zealand (www.nginz.
co.nz) has produced an excellent children’s magazine that engages with
children and encourages them to grow their own food. In Australia in 2012 ‘Gardening 4 Kids’ (www.gardening4kids.com.au) won the Best Kids Company award as part of Green Lifestyle magazine’s inaugural Green Lifestyle Awards 2012.
Allergies
Another major challenge when dealing with both children and many adults is the increasing awareness by people of allergies, especially when it comes to food. Culinary tour operators need to be aware of allergies and be prepared to alter recipes and meals to meet different people’s requirements.
According to the Canadian Health Department,8 the ten most common
1. Peanuts. 2. Eggs. 3. Milk. 4. Tree nuts. 5. Wheat. 6. Soy. 7. Sesame seeds. 8. Seafood. 9. Sulphites. 10. Mustard.
Once a business has decided who is the target consumer, the next question is how will they get to your facility?