Schools launch fifth edition of Food Challenge North-Central Netherlands

In addition to Overijssel, Gelderland, Flevoland, Drenthe, Groningen and Utrecht, the Food Challenge is also taking place in the province of North Holland for the first time this year. The common thread is designing a healthy poké bowl with sustainable products from the farm, which gives the students the energy to carry out the boot camp they designed themselves.

Food Challenge components

The Food Challenge consists of three different components: lessons at school, guest lessons from vocational food students and a Foodcamp on the farm with vocational lifestyle students. An expert jury will choose ‘the best poké bowl in North-Central Netherlands’ in June 2025. The school with the best poké bowl will win a workshop with a top chef or a competition involving a professional sports club. In addition, they will treat their entire school to the best poké bowl of 2025!

New vocational schools

In addition to the previously involved vocational food schools SVO vakopleiding food Zwolle and Houten, ROC Nijmegen, Drenthe College Emmen and Meppel, ROC Flevoland Almere, SVO Alkmaar and Landstede Raalte are joining this school year.

This year, lifestyle students from Vonk Alkmaar, Nova College Hoofddorp, Landstede Zwolle, Aventus Apeldoorn and ROC Midden Nederland are also participating for the first time, alongside the students from Deltion College Zwolle who were already involved.

According to the ‘peer-to-peer’ principle, lessons taught by vocational students are a very good match in terms of level and age. Moreover, this may be a possible further study option for pre-vocational students. For vocational students, it is a fantastic practical experience and a contribution to a healthier population. As future professionals, they will play an important role in providing healthy lifestyle choices.

Impact assessment

This year, too, an impact assessment will be carried out before and after the Food Challenge. The first school to complete the initial assessment was Carmel College Salland PrO in Raalte. They will receive a workshop on ‘eating more biodiversity’ from an Odin Foodcoop beekeeper, a partner and supplier of products and recipes for the Food Challenge.

Use the Healthy School incentive scheme

Schools that want to embed food education in their school for a longer period can also use the Food Challenge as a recognised intervention through the Healthy School programme. The Food Challenge is an official Healthy School activity for the themes of Food and Nature and the Environment. To take steps in this area, schools can apply for the Healthy School 2025–2026 incentive scheme between 10 March and 15 April 2025 via Mijngezondeschool.nl. Schools with questions about this can contact the Healthy School adviser in their region.

Organisation

The Food Challenge is organised and carried out by LekkerBoer together with the vocational schools mentioned above. For special secondary education and practical education, they collaborate with Stichting Special Heroes Nederland. The competition is supported by Jong Leren Eten, the provinces of Overijssel and Flevoland, municipalities, Odin Foodcoop and LTO Noord.

Registration 2026

Schools that want to participate next school year can already register via www.foodchallengevoorscholen.nl. The number of participating schools is limited. Information and visual materials can also be found on the Food Challenge website and social media channels. Schools can start with the teaching package from January 2026.