New Taipei school raises student food awareness

2015/08/28

A school in New Taipei City is raising food awareness among students through a tailored course highlighting the benefits of healthy eating and locally sourced produce.

Wrapping up in January this year, the 12-month program involved 51 eighth-grade students in two classes at New Taipei Municipal Shenkeng Junior High School. Results were spectacular, with graduates now paying greater attention to what they consume and even producing a food map for the area with merchandising and social media exposure upside.

Course facilitator Lin Miao-chuan said the program is of immense value given the recent food scandals plaguing Taiwan. “It is important we teach the next generation how to recognize the value in choosing healthy foods.”

Lin, an environmental education and resources graduate from Taipei Municipal University of Education, has devoted herself for over a decade to boosting eco-friendly food education at the school.

As part of the course, students were encouraged to explore Shenkeng-grown produce and trace food origins. By consulting historic street residents, as well as the local farmers’ association, they identified the best cuisines in the district and learned how they were produced.

One student said the program, which unlocked a world of tasty treats beyond the usual Shenkeng fare of stinky tofu, also stressed the importance of checking ingredients. “I now know there are plenty delicious and healthy snacks out there like black pork sausages, green bamboo shoots and pouchong tea.”

The second stage of the course saw students swap the comfortable climes of the classroom for the heat, humidity and wetness of the paddy field.

“Farmers and the ways they cultivate their crops are the best teachers when it comes to food education,” Lin said. “We want the students to appreciate how hard it is to cultivate the rice they take for granted at meal times.”

But the most challenging part of the program was having the pupils grow vegetables on campus and sell the items at a farmers’ market.

“We forced the students to squarely face the economic hardships confronting small-scale farmers and better understand the difficulty in striking a balance between earning a living and environmental protection,” Lin said.

“What we are doing is sowing the seeds of food safety in tomorrow’s consumers and decision-makers, while supporting the production and sale of locally grown eco-friendly crops.”

Source: Taiwan Today (http://taiwantoday.tw/ct.asp?xItem=234298&ctNode=413)