The nursery group of 32 settings, which is committed to providing an 'environmentally sustainable and socially responsible world', claims to be the first early years provider to serve game to children.
Children will be provided with wild meat meals, including venison and orzo bake with mozarella and venison bolognaise, twice within a three-week cycle, totaling 3,000 wild meat meals per month.
According to Tops, game meat contains less fat, and as much protein and nutrients as typical household meats like beef, chicken, lamb and pork.
The vension being served to children at the nurseries comes from a country estate in the South Downs National Park, which carries out conservation work, aligning with the nursery group’s sustainability mission and ethos.
Tops says that deer are currently being culled due to their huge numbers, which can cause damage to the environment, and that they are ‘making use of the animals rather than seeing them go to waste.’
Children in the settings will continue to be served other meats, but only twice per week.
Pete Ttofis, catering manager at Tops Day Nurseries, said, ‘Having worked in the hospitality industry for so long, I had always been aware of how delicious wild foods were, especially game. The variety and how natural it is always appealed to me as I knew it hadn't been subjected to courses of intense growth hormones or antibiotic treatment and is left to roam freely eating natural foods within its natural environment.’
Leon Challis-Davies, culinary director at Eat Wild, which is leading the project, added, ‘It's so important that we get the younger generation to eat more nutritional and vitamin-rich food to help them develop. Wild meat is not only healthier, but it’s also more sustainable than what we consume from our current meat-producing sector. It’s much more flavoursome too. For the countryside community in particular, this is a huge win, and we hope to take it to the next level and introduce wild meat into higher education and beyond.’