Students enjoy sharing their healthy tiffins with friends at Delhi Public School, Howrah. Biswajit Kundu
Can children stay away from fast food? Do they know the difference between processed and healthy food?
ABP presents EXO Healthy Tiffin Talks, in association with The Telegraph, Young Metro, an initiative held in 50 schools throughout July. It chose to spread awareness among Primary schoolchildren and foster healthy eating habits. The event covered schools all over Calcutta, Salt Lake, Howrah, New Town and the neighbouring districts of Hooghly, North and South 24 Parganas.
Targeting students from Nursery to Class IV, the initiative sought to dispel the notion that healthy food is boring and tasteless.
The children were asked to bring healthy tiffins to school, as part of the event, and the best tiffins were awarded.
Even the Kindergarten kids were excited to showcase the healthy tiffins they had brought from home. Many lunchboxes were also creatively arranged. The classrooms were a riot of colours as students displayed colourful lunches made of fresh fruits and veggies arranged to resemble a face or a smiley.
The children were also made to take part in activities and discussions. They were asked to write down the recipes of their favourite healthy dishes and create artwork of their handprints and that of their moms’.
Raghavendra Katte, vice-president at Jyothy Labs Limited, also attended some sessions. He spoke about lunchbox hygiene and how they accumulate bacteria if left unwashed. He said one must revive traditional and naturally healthy recipes.
There were two winners from each section for every class. Three school toppers were selected from the
section winners.
Principals also addressed the students and parents. They said how schools provide tiffin guidelines to parents.
“At the beginning of every session, parents are sent guidelines with different healthy tiffin options. Fresh fruits and local sweets such as sandesh are encouraged since they contain less unhealthy fats than other sweet dishes,” said Sunita Arora, principal of Delhi Public School, Howrah.
Farida Singh, headmistress of Birla High School, accepted that preparing tiffins for kids is not easy. “Packing healthy tiffins during the early morning rush requires planning. We provide suggested menus containing ideas and recipes for parents. The most important thing is to cultivate a habit of eating healthy food,” she said.
In some schools, students are trained to identify healthy food and also prepare some easy dishes.
“We conduct non-flame cooking activities across classes where students learn to cook healthy food, along with their parents,” said Poushali Mukherjee, headmistress of Shri Shikshayatan School.
“We conduct an orientation session for parents on what kind of tiffin they can give their kids. Students are also constantly educated, so that they know which food to avoid,” added Mallika Mukherjee, principal of M.C. Kejriwal Vidyapith.