FOOD SKILLS FOR LIFE – CURRICULUM PROJECT UPDATE FOR TEACHERS Words by Julie North : Vegetables.co.nz
You will know of the flagship cooking in schools programme developed by vegetables.co.nz a few years ago in partnership with the Heart Foundation. You may have noticed a subtle change in the title above, as we now call this programme Food Skills for Life – a curriculum project, focussing on the importance of food and cooking as a life skill. As part of this programme, we provide a professional learning day for teachers every year. The day includes an update on nutrition guidelines and science, issues in the food regulatory space and topical food trends. Linking it all back to the Food Skills for Life programme and giving useful resources or tips for teachers to take back to the classroom and integrate into their lesson plans. While Covid-19 put a stop to the planned session in Auckland, vegetables.co.nz recently held one of these
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sessions in Wellington and have a further session in Christchurch soon. Focussed on Chinese style cooking with Asian greens, it was a wonderful opportunity to launch the new lesson plan, theme presentations and the hands-on kitchen demonstration.
Did you know online shopping was available 25 years ago? You could use your fax machine to place orders The lesson plan is the result of a Masters student project earlier this year through Otago University, with review by external professionals and completed in partnership with the Heart Foundation who provide the design elements. Wellington’s session was a jam-packed day. We presented on the United Nations’ 2021 the International Year of Fruits and Vegetables with an overview of food systems
