Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Engage with Children - They Are Your Future
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 topics 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
topics 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.
