NORDIC NETWORK NTP – HEALTHY CHOICES PROJECT

Tuesday, 21 June 2011 05:20

At the moment it is common in Nordic countries that the children do not eat the food that is offered to them at school. Nordic stakeholders working in National Technology Platforms cooperated to identify solutions that would increase children’s consumption of healthy meals at school.This collaboration was performed in a project ‘Nordic Network NTP - Healthy Choices’ funded by Nordic Innovation Centre in 2009-2010. Finnish participants were VTT and Mikkeli University of Applied Sciences.

A thorough overview of the school meal system in all the Nordic countries was established in the project. Common obstacles were identified and the concern in all the countries is that children do not eat the food that is offered to them. The main challenge is not only to make sure that the food is healthy and nutritious, but also that it tastes good and is nicely presented in a pleasant atmosphere. The report of the project gives recommendations, aimed at municipalities, school authorities, public health authorities, food industry, catering service, researchers and parents, on how communication and collaboration can improve quality of school meals, increase variety of healthy choices and encourage children to eat versatile, healthy and nutritious food at school.

The report and more information are available:
http://www.nordicinnovation.org/Publications/nordic-network-ntp-healthy-choices/