Local fruits and vegetables got an extra push this week at Belmont Primary School.
In preparation for World Food Day, to be celebrated tomorrow, the school hosted a week of activities under this year’s theme United Against Hunger, to raise awareness of eating healthy, using local produce and not wasting food.
Yesterday the various classes at the school prepared local dishes, including pickled breadfruit, breadfruit cake, sweet potato chips, golden apple drink, cassava bread, banana bread, coconut cookies, stewed bananas and salt fish and other dishes.
Celebrating
Teacher and coordinator of the cook-off event, Alicia Parris, said: “Since we will be celebrating World Food Day at the end of the week, we decided to make the children more familiar with local foods and arranged for them to cook local dishes.”
The week of activities included the writing of an essay about a chosen vegetable or fruit, explaining its nutritional benefits and the importance of including it in their diet.
Crucial to the exercise was the awareness of not wasting food. Parris said she gave special attention to this year’s theme, seeking to show the students that they should try to conserve food, rather than saying they did not like a particular thing and throwing it away.
She also addressed the issue of sharing, telling children they should share with one another and understand that there were many places in the world where children did not have enough to eat.
Parris added that as a way of promoting healthy eating instead of using so many snacks, the children also learnt how to prepare sweet potato chips.
They were eager to taste the dishes they created. (LK)
