Gansbaai Primary School promotes healthy eating habits
17 November 2022
The Overberg Education District celebrated National Nutrition Week at Gansbaai Primary School.
The celebrations on 20 October 2022 created awareness of healthy eating habits.
The Western Cape Education Department provides meals to over 504 000 learners at 1 025 schools every day at a cost of approximately R451 million each year.
The school was chosen as the venue for the celebrations because of its beautiful vegetable garden, good school management and participation in the National School Nutrition Programme (NSNP), said Marilize Middleway, NSNP Coordinator in the Overberg District. To be eligible, schools had to be in Quintiles 1 to 3.
Middleway thanked the departments of Agriculture, Health and Public Works, as well as partners like Gansbaai Marine, Hermanus Office National, Two-a-Day Group Ltd, Kromco, Southern Oil and Old Mutual for their contributions to make the event special.
Neil Pedro, Gansbaai Primary School Acting Principal, said it was important for the school to create a healthy school nutrition culture. “Nourished learners are better prepared to learn. We incorporate nutrition in the daily lesson plans, curriculum support, health unit programmes and additional resources to assist educators in promoting health.”
Pedro said learners are encouraged to promote good nutrition in their social environment. “The whole school supports the nutrition programme. We strive to create a safe, clean and pleasant eating area that is hygienic.
“Teachers encourage families to pack healthy lunches to support healthy eating. They also share information about healthy eating practices and food safety.”
