She explains that De Vuurvogel has a nutrition and treats policy that sets out, among other things, what children may and may not eat as a snack, for lunch and on birthdays. “Parents comply with it,” says Melis. She says that the school is ‘one of the educators’. “The children have lunch here three times a week. During the eight years that they are with us, we try to make them aware of nutrition, exercise and a healthy lifestyle. The school has no insight into what parents do after school.” The school does not know whether the focus on responsible eating produces results. Although children are measured and weighed, schools no longer receive the results for privacy reasons.
The article also focuses on JIBB+, which was established in 2019 through a merger of the JIBB Foundation and the Jong Helmond Lekker Gezond Foundation. The reason for the merger was the belief that attention to healthy nutrition and healthy exercise belong together. Weight, behaviour, nutrition and exercise cannot be viewed separately. Through exercise programmes and nutrition education, JIBB+ helps young children remain fit and healthy. JIBB+ general manager Rob van der Wijst notices that knowledge is limited in some neighbourhoods. “There are parents who think that a carton of juice is healthy if the packaging says that it contains kiwi. At schools, you reach the children at least. The next step is then: how do you get the message to the parents? Children should take the message home with them: ‘I want to eat vegetables’.”
Read the full article in the Eindhovens Dagblad here.