Health organizations are warning of a gigantic health problem. Children are no longer growing up healthy. According to the RIVM, 1 in 7 is overweight. This must and can be changed. Three previous editions of the Healthy Smikkel Weeks organized by the Spoony Foundation—with participating children from after-school care centers and homes throughout the Netherlands—have shown that children find even the strangest vegetables interesting, fun, and tasty.
Proven success
The Healthy Smikkel Weeks study by Femke A. Hoefnagels and Marieke C.E. Battjes-Fries from 2022 shows that experiential nutrition education—such as the activities offered during the Healthy Smikkel Weeks—is effective in helping children develop a healthier lifestyle. Research also showed that the vegetable activity program fits well into busy after-school care schedules. Both children and parents are overwhelmingly enthusiastic about the way it encourages children to eat more vegetables through play. A win-win.
Phaedra Mensen, chair of the Spoony Foundation: “The news of recent times says enough: there is too little attention for healthy nutrition. We live unhealthily and take our children along with us in this. I have been seeing this for years, which is why I founded the Spoony Foundation, with the mission of getting children to eat vegetables more often and in greater quantities. And successfully so. However, clearly more is needed, starting with nutrition education. I am proud that nearly 70,000 children at after-school care centers are taking part in the Healthy Smikkel Weeks this year, and that all children at home in the Netherlands can participate free of charge starting today. I hope this contributes to a positive turnaround in both our lifestyle and the political focus on this issue.”
Official launch with well-known children’s chef
The fourth edition of the Healthy Smikkel Weeks was officially launched on Wednesday, July 3, together with children’s chef Nick Toet, at the CLUB Kompas after-school care center in The Hague/Leidschenveen. Yellow beet fries with green mayo were prepared, a sensory game was played with unusual vegetables such as tamarillo, and a rainbow pizza was baked.
Take part via the free Cooking and Activity Book!
All participating children receive a Cooking and Activity Book with recipes, eating games, and challenges. Children who do not attend one of the participating after-school care centers can take part in the Healthy Smikkel Weeks at home, free of charge, via the online platform. These activities can be done individually or together with family members. By taking part in the challenges, you have a chance to win 50 prizes, ranging from Cortina bicycles and cool sneakers to a stunt scooter and magazine subscriptions. You can participate until September 1, 2024, via www.gezondesmikkelweken.nl.