A day in the life of LMC Education Manager

Cherrie Kenny Photo by Simon Graham/Harrison Photography

She is married with one grown up son and lives in Belfast.

LMC educates consumers about the true nutritional value of red meat in the diet and promotes beef and sheep meat in home and export markets.

“My job is to oversee the provision of the LMC education programme which reaches out to NI Home Economics teachers, pupils aged 11 to 18 who study Home Economics and general consumers.

LMC, in its educational role, has been ‘out there’ promoting the produce of the NI beef and sheepmeat industry in secondary schools throughout Northern Ireland since 1999.

I spend my day liaising with school teachers and the ladies who conduct the demonstrations to book dates. There’s around 300 demonstrations in schools a year.

Our educational programme explains the nutritional value of Northern Ireland Farm Quality Assured beef and lamb in a balanced diet. It highlights the versatility of NIFQA beef and lamb in quick, simple, cost effective recipes and supports the NI Home Economics Curriculum.

Northern Ireland is an important beef and sheep meat producer and the provision of secondary school cookery demonstrations in Home Economics classes is a key element of LMC’s overall education strategy.

It is part of my job to go into the schools and evaluate the demonstrations and meet home economics teachers. We aim to support NI HE teachers as major ‘influencers’ of young people and continue to educate pupils on the merits of NIFQA beef and lamb.

When I’m not doing this I will be in meetings discussing ad campaigns, checking emails, working on newsletters and sorting out our website. We run an interactive nutritional website – www.food4life.org.uk – which supports teachers and pupils at both Key Stage 3 and 4 and I am currently involved in producing an A-level section too. This website is a big help to pupils, teachers and is a great aid for coursework, revision and providing recipes.

Another part of my job which I enjoy is working with food stylists for our ad campaigns and leaflets. I love this as I always learn so much.

It is just great being able to support local farmers who work so hard putting beef and lamb on our tables. I really enjoy my role and I get a lot of satisfaction.