German EDEKA foundation puts nutrition on the school timetable

The “Move more, eat better” project of the EDEKA foundation is part of the curriculum of 18,000 children in the academic year 2016/17. It is the fourth time that the Hamburg foundation has motivated elementary school pupils to eat a balanced diet, exercise more and also offers them the opportunity to take responsibility for themselves and their environment with their project.

Source: Edeka

Children in this age group profit especially from this project because in the first ten years they develop the lifelong habits that influence their health and well-being for the rest of their lives. In the academic year 2016/17 the EDEKA foundation organised 600 project days, 200 more than in the previous year. “IN Form” rewarded the EDEKA Foundation for their commitment. IN Form is an initiative for healthy food and exercise in Germany. The positive effect of the long-term initiative “Move more, eat better” is due to the balanced mix of theory, practice, learning and playing.

The modules on nutrition, exercise and sustainability are a welcome addition to, or even the first introduction of, these relevant topics. "Our project increases the knowledge about food and the environment," emphasises Markus Mosa, CEO of the EDEKA Foundation. "This is our important contribution to society."

Projects with local support

The projects contain a wide range of modules that all have a central theme. All modules encourage responsibility in the children - responsibility for themselves and for the environment. For instance the subject “food” does not only cover nutrition theory but also a sense of participation by cooking a meal together. With exercises such as walking, jumping and playing, the pupils learn the importance and relation between moving and health and well-being. In the subject sustainability, children are encouraged to pay attention to their environment and they are informed about difficult environmental issues especially oceans and fisheries. The projects are created together with primary school teachers, nutritionists, sports scientists and the WWF (World Wide Fund For Nature).

The day is organised in the elementary school together with a qualified EDEKA Foundation team and the teacher. The school is sponsored by an EDEKA supermarket to guarantee the annual organisation of the project. A workbook and an interactive game can be used to evaluate the entire project with the children.

Pre-project for pre-schoolers

In addition to the elementary school project the EDEKA Foundation also organises a project for pre-schoolers. This project, “Vegetable patches for kids” supplies kindergartens and daycares with raised beds for free. By growing their own vegetables children learn that vegetables do not just come from the supermarket and how much care actually is needed until they can finally harvest their own vegetables. In entire Germany 1,600 kindergartens and day-care centres and 160,000 children participated in this project in 2016.

For more information about the projects, and available downloads, go to: www.edeka-stiftung.de/presse