The Strategy
How will it be done?
This will be done through a structured food literacy curriculum in schools that will help children to make a conscious dietary transition to healthy, balanced, and diverse diets and build a positive relationship with food. This will also help children to build a positive relationship with food as a key to preventive healthcare. This would have six core elements.
A good strategy for food literacy through schools is built on six key elements, namely –
A Holistic Curriculum
that covers knowledge, behaviour, and skill-related aspects of food. This would be based on the science of dietary shift and habit formation. It must be culturally relevant, and is aligned with the existing school curriculum
An Innovative Pedagogy
based on experiential activity-based and collaborative learning. It would include bidirectional engagement with parents/grandparents through a structured playful activity-based format for a positive impact on food behaviours and habits of both
Leverage digital technology & tools
for effective continuous engagement, interactivity, and adopting a data-driven approach to measure progress and take corrective actions
Continuous Tracking & Periodic Assessment
It would form an essential part of the learning process to keep track of progress made by students and their families
Comprehensive Training
of school teachers, supervisors, and outside experts (food coaches) suited for low resource settings
School Recognition & Rewards
to inspire schools to adopt and sustain foundational food literacy curriculum. Schools would also be encouraged and supported to change the school food environments.