A primary school in Cork city has introduced a nutrition policy with a view to changing pupils' attitudes to food - and it works, writes Regina Daly
When it comes to children eating the right foods, a team of eight teachers at one of Cork city's schools believe what's needed are new ways to get the message across. And they've found a way of doing it effectively.
Since January, St John the Apostle Boys' Primary School in Mayfield has hosted a food fair on the last Friday of each month, involving the local community - pupils and their families, teachers and local retailers/food suppliers.
Each fair focused on a different level of the food pyramid model: the January fair featured carbohydrates such as breads, potatoes, cereals and pasta.
February's event centred on fruit and vegetables, March on dairy produce (cheese, milk, yoghurts), and May on proteins including meat, fish and eggs, as well as confectionery and sweets.
All the suppliers provided the produce and their services free. Parents and children were invited to sample the local fresh and nutritious produce.
Local restaurateur Seamus O'Connell of the Ivory Tower restaurant, presenter of RTÉ's Soul Food television series, gave a cookery demonstration on meat and fish dishes, and parents eagerly took part in events including a competition to find the most healthy lunch box.
The Minister for Health, Mr Martin, attended the final fair on Friday, and praised the participants and organisers.
He underlined the Government's determination to tackle childhood obesity, reflected in his decision to set up the recently established National Task Force on Obesity.
This was, he said, against a backdrop of a report indicating there were "almost as many people who are obese or overweight as there are people who maintain recommended weight levels".
Principal Kieran Cremin told The Irish Times the project had "lifted the whole school and given the pupils the chance to project the school into the wider community".
More importantly, the main aim had been achieved which was "to get the message across, in a new way, that certain foods affect the behaviour, development and learning of a child".
As in many schools nowadays, fizzy drinks are not allowed, although confectionery and sweets played a small part in the final fair.
"Confectionery is part of the food pyramid, but moderation is the message," Mr Cremin explained.
St John the Apostle Boys Primary School has disadvantaged status. It has 280 pupils and 21 teachers. But it has a low level of obesity among it pupils partly due to the fact that it's "very sports-minded", Mr Cremin said.
It is, after all, Roy Keane country. And, like the Manchester United captain, the school values the importance of nutrition.
The importance of this issue of nutrition has been underlined by a report published at the weekend by the St Vincent de Paul Society, which claims food poverty is on the increase despite our so-called affluence.
It claims "a growing number of people in the State, including children, do not have enough to eat because they cannot afford a healthy diet".
"The problem is the inability to access food and the appropriate type of food."
Those most at risk are living in low income households, in disadvantaged areas, it states.
St John's has learned an invaluable lesson in getting an important nutritional message across to both pupils and parents.
"We'd been exploring a nutritional policy for the school for some time, and decided before Christmas to do something to highlight the importance of food in the development of children and for life, particularly in view of the reported rise in obesity levels in the country," Mr Cremin said.
"The question was getting it across.
"We see now, thanks to the great success it has been, that the medium is as important as the message."