Before, these children thought that “responsible” and “healthy” were synonyms. Most of them could say nothing about the origin of food they used to eat. They did not know what a farmer was or how a farm functions. The word “local” was unknown to them, and they were not used to going to the farmer’s market. However, this isn´t true anymore! Teachers of Dječji Vrtič Panda kindergarten in Varaždin decided that they needed to explain, to the children, what a responsible consumption of healthy and local food looks like.
Teachers of kindergarten Panda knew that parents used to teach their children healthy eating habits, but they often forget to consider the impact their responsible-eating lifestyle has on the climate. So, the kindergarten became part of the We Eat Responsibly project to motivate the kids to develop more responsible life values.
Voyage of One Food Item & Weekly Food Diary
They prepared many interesting activities for the kids, such as, a visit to a family farm, making posters about food sorts, and also about the seasonal and local foods. One group organized the Seasonal Market, where they learned what type of local food is grown in which season. Parents also helped children to look for photos and information about food they used to eat.
The kids visited a shop together with their parents and based on the information they got there, they made a poster called The Voyage of One Food Item. They focused mainly on issues such as energy consumption and environmental impact. With all this information, the children were able to make up their own opinions about certain types of food. The children were then capable of differentiate between healthy and non-healthy foods, which allowed them to make a responsible choice. They even understood the strong relationship between food and its impact on climate change.
However, they were not only focused on the food they can purchase, but also on the waste that is cultivated by the food they throw away. Where does the food we throw away end up? That was a crucial question for them. For that reason, they started to make a Weekly Food Diary and found a farm where they could bring their leftovers to feed domestic animals. Thanks to these techniques, the children managed to reduce their food waste significantly.
A Centre and its games
Nowadays, we can find a Centre for eating in the Panda kindergarten. It consists of games, posters and literature about food. Children, parents, and teachers alike can come to educate themselves about this important issue.
The children and teachers at kindergarten Panda are pretty creative. They even invented many new games that we can now find in the Centre. They named them; The Pyramid of the Responsible Eating, Healthy Pantry. There are also table games such as; To Be Responsible, The Calendar of Seasonal and Local Food, and Find the Intruder.
The new way of life
The teachers placed an information board about the project and its activities in the kindergarten entrance hall. Children created their own eco-code with seven steps, which are something like guidelines to understand what responsible food is. They also organized a Project Day, where they made a workshop about ecological footprints, and even managed to organize a TV show where they tried to influence others to change their eating habits and how they thought about food.
Now, the kids understand that food is connected to energy consumption, pollution, and climate change. They started to think about the origin of the food they eat and now visit local farms and farmer markets regularly. This new knowledge became their way of life. Moreover, they managed to bring this new knowledge into their families, and also the teachers and staff of Panda kindergarten started to think more about their own eating habits. So thanks to this project, they changed their personal attitudes about food, and now try to influence other people living in the community.
