Description

Our health depends, among other things, on what we eat. It is therefore important to have a varied and balanced diet. This is why the presence of vegetable gardens in schools is an asset because they aim to improve the nutritional status of students and although they cannot improve the health of students on their own, they can nevertheless participate. The students will plant to harvest, prepare and eat. With these crops, the school can, depending on the space it can give to the vegetable garden and the harvest, supplement any meals that may be provided at the school. In addition, it has been shown that the distribution of meals at school increases student attendance and therefore positively influences the level of education. Furthermore, a healthy diet, once adopted within the school setting, can be extended and applied outside the school walls. They can enable students, families, cooks, school staff and the community to make connections between growing food and eating a balanced diet. These vegetable gardens are therefore a real way to promote good habits. In addition to producing food, they help improve the students’ diet and can provide fruits, vegetables and cereals, rich in fibre, vitamins and minerals and enhance the nutritional value of school meals.

➢ FRUITS

They provide fiber, vitamins, minerals and antioxidants.

• Trees: apples, apricots, papayas, mangoes, etc.
• The bushes: redcurrants, raspberries, blackcurrants.
• Herbaceous plants: strawberries, melons, watermelons

➢ VEGETABLES

Just like fruits, vegetables are rich in fibre, vitamins, minerals and antioxidants.

• Green vegetables: leeks, spinach, cabbage
• Root vegetables: carrots, potatoes, turnips
• Fruit vegetables: eggplants, tomatoes, zucchini

➢ CÉRÉALS

They are a source of carbohydrates (thus energy), proteins, minerals and vitamins if they are not refined. Unlike whole grains that have not been processed, refined grains are grain products whose composition has been modified.

• With gluten: rye wheat (it can be made into bread), spelt wheat, kamut wheat (a wheat oriental richer than rye wheat), barley.
• Gluten free: buckwheat, rice, quinoa, corn, millet, fonio, sorghum.

While a diet lacking in energy intake and low in protein and micronutrients prevents the growth of schoolchildren, weakens them against diseases and hinders their learning abilities, a balanced diet, on the contrary, can have a positive impact on the health of children and permanently changes the practices and habits of the schoolchildren. attitudes towards food. In other words, malnutrition, including micronutrient deficiencies, among school-aged children is due to poor dietary intake and a balanced diet, including a lack of fruits, vegetables, beans, fish, poultry and meat, as well as poor knowledge of good eating habits and healthy eating practices.