Vegetables buddies – an educational project
ALVIM, Alda J R, FRANCHINI, Bela, VAZ de ALMEIDA, Maria Daniel
1, 2 e 3 Faculdade de Ciências da Nutrição e Alimentação da Universidade do Porto,
Rua Dr. Roberto Frias, 4200-465 Porto, Portugal
Corresponding author: FRANCHINI, Bela, Faculdade de Ciências da Nutrição e
Alimentação da Universidade do Porto, Rua Dr. Roberto Frias, 4200-465 Porto, Portugal.
[email protected]
Increasing vegetable consumption among children, known to be lower
than recommended, is presumed to result in higher consumption at
older ages.. Our objective was to promote the consumption of
vegetables among children (4-10 years old) attending seven pre and
primary schools of the city of Vila Nova de Gaia, Portugal.
Around 1200 children participated in the project. Several sessions
were organized and carried out in the classroom by one of the team’s
nutritionists and by final year nutrition students. We aimed the children to become familiar
with several vegetables, to learn how to value them, to taste them as well as to improve their
knowledge about these foods. Each “vegetable buddy” was introduced to the children, namely
its lifecycle from agricultural production to transformation and distribution along the food
chain. Botanical characteristics and health benefits were also presented. Several practical
activities took place in the classroom in which the children were encouraged to use their
senses (sight, smell, touch and, taste) to become familiar
with each vegetable buddy. The broad school community
(staff, parents, caregivers, local institutions) was involved.
Teachers were encouraged to organize activities in and out
the classroom, concerning the vegetables. Parents were
motivated to participate by shopping and cooking with
their children and by bringing recipes to school.
An exhibition of the children’s activities was organized at the public library, the booklet
“Amigos hortícolas” was published in paper and later as an e-book. A Congress to celebrate
the World Food Day in which the children were the speakers was organized at the city
cultural centre. A considerable amount of motivating educational material was developed. We
will present the several phases of the project, samples of the children’s work and part of the
outcome educational material.
Acknowledgment: The project was sponsored by the Parents Association and local public
institutions.
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