Children are being challenged to use kids cookery contest Young Cooks to demonstrate how people can adopt more environmentally friendly lifestyles.

Organised by the KM Charity Team, Young Cooks is open to children aged six to 19 from across Kent.

They are invited to submit recipes that are healthy and delicious, with shortlisted finalists being invited to a Masterchef-style event in November.

And the judges, who include Gary Maryan of the Southern Co-op, are particularly keen to see recipes that incorporate locally sourced produce.

Mr Maryan stressed that it was the competition’s emphasis on local sourcing in previous years that inspired the company to get involved this year.

He said: “A lot of the ingredients came from local suppliers, and that’s something that we’re very passionate about and very much behind in our way of thinking and doing business.”

Competition coordinator Hannah Hawksworth said the company’s promotion of local consumption fitted perfectly with both the competition’s objectives and young people’s preoccupations.

She added: “Young people are increasingly taking the lead in demanding action to address the challenge of climate change forcing people to think harder about adapting their patterns of consumption.

“And one measure that could help reduce pressure on the environment is cutting down on food miles by buying and eating more locally sourced ingredients.

“Shorter journeys between producer and consumer mean less emissions and pollution.

“But sometimes people need a bit of help to see how easy it can be to adapt their lifestyles, so it would be great if Young Cooks contestants could come up with some recipes demonstrating how simple and cheap it can be to make delicious dishes out of doorstep ingredients.”

The winners of Young Cooks will share £500 in prize money, and there will be separate primary-school, family, secondary-school and overall winners announced.

Apart from Southern Co-op, the competition is supported by Broadstairs College, Macknade Fine Foods, Principals by CH & Co Group, SE Medical, Chequers Kitchen, Brakes, Golding Homes, Three R's Teacher Recruitment, Kent Catering Services, The Dog at Wingham, Whole School Meals and Taylor Meats.

The deadline for entries is November 7. Find out more at www.youngcooks.org.uk.