The Dun Manwel Attard Resource Centre in Malta decided to spread its education activities during the We Eat Responsibly project and include food issues into their activities. Its members and students learned a lot about meat consumption, local food and health. They had the opportunity to meet interesting guests and held important discussions. Also, they were making smoothies, baking muffins, drying fruit and mainly, they were enjoying the time spent together during these activities.
So, what do we eat?
At the very beginning, there was a decision taken by students and staff members of the Dun Manwel Attard Young Adult Education Resource Centre to become a part of the We Eat Responsibly project. For that reason, they established the EkoSkola Committee. Then, as the first step of the project, they focused on themselves and the food they were used to eat. “Are the lunches we eat healthy?” “Are they made of local and seasonal ingredients?” – These were the crucial questions they asked.
During this process, the EkoSkola Committee realized, that the meals they were used to eat were not so healthy. That is why they proposed better alternatives. For example, they all agreed to incorporate pasta salad to the menu instead of meals based on meat. The main plan was to have more plant based and thus healthier meals on their plates.
This week – no meat
Since meat consumption is quite a big issue, the students organized a vegetarian pizza week. Through this action they tried to highlight problems related to production and consumption of meat. They showed that plant based meals could be very tasty and much better alternative in general, especially in regards to the environment. However, they did not forget about the issue of food waste and discussed many possible ways to reuse leftovers, such as bread buns and fresh fruit, in many recipes.
Juice Me Up and dried fruit
Snack is very important meal of the day for students. The members of the Centre therefore decided to make snacks from seasonal fruit and vegetables without adding any preservatives. They made their own snacks from fruit and vegetable with the use of a dehydrator machine. They tried to highlight the advantages of choosing local ingredients instead of the imported ones.
The Centre also purchased a smoothie maker to prepare tasty, fresh, local and seasonal smoothies for students and staff. Smoothies are not only very popular nowadays but they can also be very healthy and eco-friendly – if they are made from local ingredients. The Centre started a “Juice Me Up” project which included many practical activities, prepared mainly by the local canteen.
Involving local community
The We Eat Responsibly project activities were successfully spread among the staff, parents and local community. The EkoSkola Committee also invited many interesting guests to talk about food waste and nutrition. Even the parents participated in many events and activities. For example, they were helping the students with muffin baking for the Mother’s Day.
The Resource Centre also organised a public event in the nearby village of Marsaxlokk which had great success and was an excellent opportunity to inform wider community about food issues and spread important values.
Plans for the future
During the last school year, people in the Resource Centre focused on issues such as food waste, local and seasonal fruit, reducing food miles, and meat consumption. Based on the success of the project, the Resource Centre is determined to continue working on these topics and plans also to focus on other ones such as palm oil, organic products and fair trade.
