SANTA CRUZ DE TENERIFE, 23 May. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Department of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries, and Food Sovereignty of the Canary Islands unveiled today, Thursday, the Vegefruti initiative, a programme that promotes healthy eating habits within the educational community and families by encouraging the consumption of organically produced, local, and seasonal foods.
Part of the Canary Islands Eco-eaters Programme managed by the Canarian Institute of Agri-Food Quality (ICCA), this campaign aims to boost the consumption of such produce in the school cafeterias of Primary Education establishments involved in the project. It also includes educational and recreational activities focused on introducing students to the nutritional “superpowers” of fruits, vegetables, and greens.
The councilor for the sector, Narvay Quintero, visited the CEIP Ayatimas in Valle de Guerra, Tenerife today to observe the initiative’s progress at this school during the current academic year. The plan is to extend it to other schools participating in Ecocomedores during the upcoming school year.
Quintero emphasized that the goal of this initiative is to raise awareness about the nutritional value of the foods consumed and the importance of maintaining a healthy and balanced diet based on locally sourced, organic, and fresh produce. Such choices not only benefit health but also contribute to local development, land preservation, biodiversity, and the sustainability of rural areas.
Carmen Cruz, the head of studies at the school, noted a significant change in the students, who are now more open to trying new flavours and understanding the benefits of a healthy diet thanks to engaging with the food products they eat.
Furthermore, Vegefruti provides flexible and appealing resources that capture the children’s attention, starting at the age of three until they complete their 6th-grade education.
Luis Arráez Guadalupe, the director of ICCA, explained that Vegefruti originated from the Supra Autonomous Operational Group Sustainable Public Food 4.0 (GOSA) and a pilot project conducted during the 2020-2021 academic year at CEIP La Luz in La Orotava and Ernesto Castro Fariña in Tacoronte. This project revealed that the dining area is an educational space closely connected to the classroom, fostering a collaborative atmosphere among the centre’s staff (administration, teachers, kitchen, and dining personnel). Additionally, students who were initially hesitant to try certain fruits or vegetables eventually did so due to the motivating activities suggested.
The engagement and enthusiasm of the teaching team regarding organic farming significantly influenced the outcomes and the students’ understanding of the nutritional properties of the foods.
This experience highlighted the school cafeteria as a vital space for promoting and reviving healthy eating habits, underscoring the positive outcomes of involving cafeteria staff in such initiatives.
Margarita Hernández, an ICCA technician and Ecocomedores coordinator, mentioned that during the pilot programme, activities, resources, and materials were utilized in both classrooms and dining areas. These included a seasonal food calendar and a ‘Product Table’ display in the eco-dining area showcasing each of the Vegefruti characters to encourage consumption during lunchtime, emphasizing the lifecycle of food, production methods, and essential nutrients.
The educational kit designed by Carla Garrido and Nayra Álvarez included a methodological guide for the Product Table, an instructional video, a guide to educational activities, and an animated campaign video. These resources provided activity suggestions to incorporate the values of the Ecocomedores Programme into the educational curriculum.
INNOVATIVE MATERIALS.
New materials were introduced in 2022 for 1st and 2nd graders, such as the super ecopassport, which promotes healthy habits through fruit, vegetable, and green consumption at home, involving families and teaching nutritional concepts in the classroom. A card game was created for 2nd and 3rd graders featuring ten characters like the onion with its motto ‘With my layers, health you don’t escape’ or the strawberry with ‘Frésame mucho’, along with nutritional information on the back to cater to the Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) group.
A board game for 5th and 6th graders was designed with eighteen Vegefruti family characters to progress through while collecting ingredients to create a menu. An eco-recipe notebook was also developed for all stages of this educational level, including seasonal characters as key ingredients for recipes.
Digital versions of the materials were created to facilitate broader testing of these activities in other schools. In the current academic year, efforts were made to enhance and optimize these materials for high-quality printing, already integrated into the educational programme at CEIP Ayatimas and set to be implemented in numerous educational centres within the Ecocomedores de Canarias Programme in the 2024/2025 academic year.
The Canary Islands Eco-eaters Programme, led by the Department of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries, and Food Sovereignty of the Canary Islands in collaboration with the ICCA, Health, and Education Departments, has been promoting ecological and sustainable food in the archipelago’s schools for a decade. It involves about a hundred schools, both public and private, as well as over a hundred eco-farmers and around 19,000 students.
The Programme emphasizes providing guidance and promoting the sustainability and economic viability of production processes to the producers within the network. It also focuses on coordinating crop planning among them to enhance the weekly supply to eco-kitchens. Moreover, it provides support to kitchen and dining teams in adjusting menu configurations and helps teaching staff incorporate the programme’s concepts into educational projects.
