THUNDER BAY - Students at schools across the city are planning and receiving revolutionary lessons about food and consumption.
On Thursday, students at Pope John Paul II Elementary School participated in Food Revolution Day, a global initiative started by chef, Jamie Oliver.
“It’s a day to celebrate good food, to talk about where food comes from, to appreciate its role in our daily lives and how it impacts our bodies and our health,” said Karling Draper, a public health dietitian at the Thunder Bay District Health Unit. “And it’s also a day to share information and knowledge and skills and that is what the students are doing here today.”
Food related events were planned by students in six schools throughout the city with the help of staff at the Health Unit. Students in the grade 8 culinary class at Pope John Paul and Draper prepared several informative activities for their classmates focusing on natural and processed foods, the cost of food, sugar, and the importance of bees.
Draper said staff at the Health Unit and schools wanted to make Food Revolution Day a student driven initiative.
“We took a youth engagement approach with this, giving them the information and then just empowering them to make it what they want it to be,” Draper said. “We were kind of the facilitators but they did all the work and the planning.”
Cherika Oakley, a grade 8 student at Pope John Paul II, was teaching her classmates about the difference between processed cheese and real cheese.
“We have real cheese, and processed cheese and we are kind of giving the students a warning about what is in the processed cheese and why it is unhealthy and why you shouldn’t be eating as much,” she said. “More people like the real cheese than the process cheese because we have given them the warnings already, so they are afraid to have. It kind of scares them a little bit.”
Food Revolution Day events will be held in Westgate C.V.I, Superior C.V.I, Hammarskjold High School, Ecole secondaire catholique de la Verendyre, and St. Patrick’s High School.
According to Draper, it’s very important to be reaching out to students at this age and teach them about healthy eating habits and food.
“It’s definitely important to start young and get them excited about food and learning about food and appreciating that process,” she said. “Also, as they are getting older, they have more of a say in what they are choosing and what they are eating. Maybe they start to do more food preparation or shopping for themselves, so it’s important that they know how to make healthy choices.”
For Cherika, eating healthy is a big part of her life and she bakes and cooks for her family quite often.
“Tonight I’m cooking dinner for my family,” she said. “I very much like it. I just have a fun time in the kitchen.”
