Bam schools hold Healthy Food Festival
Students, parents and teachers in Bam participated in a ‘Healthy Food Festival’ at a local girls’ primary school recently. The event marked the successful completion of a community -based nutrition project carried out jointly by UNICEF and the Spanish NGO, Accion Contra el Hambre (ACF). The project, which began in 2005, included training sessions for trainers, teachers, principals, parents and students in 72 primary schools as well as the establishment of healthy food kiosks in schools. “In our classes we learned what is good to eat and what’s not,” said 10-year-old Hadis Saajediyaan, as she proudly pointed to a corner of the school yard covered with students’ art work developed during the training. “Now we even tell our friends about what they should eat when we see them having things like crisps.” The festival featured tables offering a colourful range of food prepared by volunteer parents. These included Iranian delicacies such as ash reshteh, a thick and hearty soup, kookoo, an egg-based dish similar to an omelette, adasi (lentils) and lubiya (beans), as well as cheese and cucumber sandwiches, bananas, oranges, dates and other fruits.
Kiosks manned by parent-volunteers now operate in 46 schools in Bam and surrounding villages, offering healthy alternatives to junk food. “I used to worry about what my children ate during school because they always filled their stomachs with junk,” said Maryam Ranjbar, a parent who volunteers in her child’s school. “I was very happy to volunteer my time. The kids love the food and have even started to eat things they never used to touch,” she adds. Principals and teachers have also noticed a marked difference in students’ health and appearance since the project was introduced. “The kiosk in our school started in March and you can easily tell from the kids’ complexion how much healthier they have become,” said one principal, who also noted that students were better able to concentrate and participate in classes now that healthy snacks are available. Based on the project’s success in primary schools, Bam’s Department of Education has decided to expand it to also reach students in secondary and high schools in order to further reduce malnutrition rates. Toward the end of the day’s celebrations, principals and parent-volunteers received certificates and gifts while students were asked to draw the food pyramid and answer questions on healthy nutrition. Students were then awarded prizes of crayons, coloured pencils, water colours and note pads. After that it was time to dive into the food. By the smiles on everyone’s faces, no other ending could have been quite as sweet!
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