My parents and I have been making the recipes from our healthy cooking lessons, and the way we eat at home has changed because of the project. We are eating much less fatty foods, and instead we eat more vegetables because they help keep us healthy.
—Josué, student at Pacoc primary school
Malnutrition is all too common among children in indigenous coffee-growing communities here in Guatemala. Seven out of ten individuals in indigenous areas suffer from chronic malnutrition and 50 percent of children across the country suffer from impaired growth and development, also known as stunting, as a result of a poor diet.* Without nutritious food to eat, children get sick more often and struggle to keep up in school.
The School Nutrition project fights malnutrition by equipping families with the skills they need to prepare healthy meals at home. Project Coordinator Sandy Mendoza leads healthy cooking workshops in five of our partner schools every year.
Each workshop begins with a lesson on what makes a healthy diet and why nutrition is important to overall health. Sandy also teaches food safety practices that participants can use at home to protect their families from food-borne illness.
Following the lesson, Sandy introduces the group to a new nutrient-dense vegetable, explains its nutritional benefits, and leads participants in preparing a meal featuring the healthy new ingredient. Participants take home the dishes they have prepared to share with their whole families, bringing tasty food and conversations about nutrition into homes across our partner communities.
The School Nutrition project is designed to complement the home agriculture education many participating students also receive through the Organic Teaching Garden project. Not only do students learn how to turn vegetables into healthy meals for their families, they also learn how to plant their own home gardens, creating a sustainable source of organic produce at little to no cost. Together, both projects empower students and their families to use the environmental resources in their communities to improve their dietary diversity and overall nutritional intake.
*USAID Food Assistance Fact Sheet Guatemala (2018)
The School Nutrition project fights malnutrition by equipping families with the skills they need to prepare healthy meals at home. Project Coordinator Sandy Mendoza leads healthy cooking workshops in five of our partner schools every year.
Each workshop begins with a lesson on what makes a healthy diet and why nutrition is important to overall health. Sandy also teaches food safety practices that participants can use at home to protect their families from food-borne illness.
Following the lesson, Sandy introduces the group to a new nutrient-dense vegetable, explains its nutritional benefits, and leads participants in preparing a meal featuring the healthy new ingredient. Participants take home the dishes they have prepared to share with their whole families, bringing tasty food and conversations about nutrition into homes across our partner communities.
The School Nutrition project is designed to complement the home agriculture education many participating students also receive through the Organic Teaching Garden project. Not only do students learn how to turn vegetables into healthy meals for their families, they also learn how to plant their own home gardens, creating a sustainable source of organic produce at little to no cost. Together, both projects empower students and their families to use the environmental resources in their communities to improve their dietary diversity and overall nutritional intake.
*USAID Food Assistance Fact Sheet Guatemala (2018)