Taste of Life: Regional Healthy food in Schools

The project is focused on a combination of healthy and regional food in schools, combined with an educational program. Childhood and adolescence is a critical period for diets of high nutritional quality as the psychological need for nutrients is high relative to energy needs. In addition, many core eating habits and behavioral patterns are developed that persist throughout adulthood.

Schools can provide an important opportunity for prevention, because they provide the most effective method of reaching large numbers of people, including youth, school staff, families and community members. Healthy food and improved nutrition should be a high priority on every school agenda because of the positive affect on child well-being, and subsequent enhanced learning ability and academic performance.

Part of the project is to survey the situation in each of the partner countries, to find examples of good practice and writing a manual, drafting a Training Manual, the creation of local working group and, at the end of the project, the implementation of seminars for the public to disseminate examples of good practice.

OBJECTIVES

In many European countries young consumers do not eat healthy and they have bad nutrition habits, with all consequences of that. Also the meals prepared in schools are not always balanced. Students also do not have a good knowledge about nutrition. Ingredients used for schoolmeals are not always good. Regional products could be a good alternative. This project aims to contribute to better and healthy meals in schools and to a promotion of the use of regional products.

The above formulated aim can be split up in a number of (summarized) more concrete objectives:
1. School canteens will provide healthy food, delivered by regional suppliers/producers,
2. To realise that lessons in healthy food and nutrition habits are implemented and becomes part of the curriculum in schools,
3. Each region develops a community of practice with relevant stakeholders, for dissemination and exploitation,
4. An exchange of best practices and additional mobilities of actors (teachers, trainers, others) and pupils are expected to contribute to a better understanding and to the development of networks,
5. To present recommendations about adjustments of regional policy on healthy regional food on schools will be realised.

MAIN ACTIVITIES

Development of intellectual outputs:
– Good Practices in the participating countries.
– Learning materials for young consumers
– Training manual for trainers: how to use the learning materials.
– Manual Quality Assurance

Also the set-up of national/regional Communities of Practice (CoP) will be foreseen, as well as a website. In the CoP, all relevant actors will meet and work on better meals and the use of regional products.

Apart of meetings of the Core Unit, and some other transnational meetings (including a big training event), the focus will also be on the national multiplier events.

WEBSITE: http://www.thetasteoflife.eu/

PROJECT STATUS: Finished
Final report can be downloaded here: Final_Report_20170112_091800 TOL