Fruit in school, priority for Europe
Drinking fruit daily is very important to maintain a healthy life at any age, but more so for children, who are in a stage of primordial growth. We parents know that, and also the European Union, which will allocate 150 million euros to distribute healthy food, especially fruit, in the schools of the continent.
Although it is true that what children eat depends on what they learn at home, the school can also help in this work of nutritional education, either in the dining room or in class, because among all we can teach good habits of life, away from the myths of food.
Fruit at school
With this objective, Spain will receive from the European Union a total of 11.5 million euros to, in this way, finance a plan of distribution of fruit in schools during the next academic year 2015-2016, for which registrations are already open.
This was announced this week by the European Commission itself, which has also indicated which countries benefit most from this important measure, since not all states will receive the same money from the total budget of 150 million euros.
Thus, the main beneficiaries of this program for the next course will be Germany (27.9 million), Italy (26.8 million euros), Poland (18 million) and France (15 million). Spain is in fifth position.
The distribution of funds is due to a pact between the experts of the Member States; also, these EU aids will be completed with some 32 million euros of national grants or private contributions.
The objective pursued with this initiative financed by the European Union is not only distribute fruits and vegetables in schools, but this money is also planned to be used to educational measures aimed at children to consume more these products and, above all, to create healthy eating habits for day to day.
Why Fruit It is not a matter of a punctual day, but it is essential to incorporate it into the daily meal as something else, just like water. With luck, the union of the students, the parents and the schools will take us to a healthier society.
Angela R. Bonachera
