Healthy Lunches!... The Future of School Canteens

IP Bragança

Human Beings in the Modern World

Healthy Lunches!... The Future of School Canteens

Description
Current status: The recent Covid-19 pandemic has clearly shown that schools are not just places where children and young people go to learn. In addition to classes, they unequivocally provide a space for young people to socialize and, for many of them, constitute a reliable source of food every day. Interestingly, the canteen is the only school space that concentrates, within a certain time, most, if not almost all, of the students, teachers and staff who attend the school. Currently, the canteen's usefulness is essentially limited to providing lunches and we have seen a growing concern about providing meals with good nutritional quality. Attention to reducing food waste is also a reason for attention on the part of responsible entities. Partner’s view: Open Science Hub - Portugal (Plataforma de Ciência Aberta) is a social innovation project that brings science, technology, and innovation closer to the daily lives of local and regional communities. This hub was established by the Municipality of Figueira de Castelo Rodrigo, in partnership with the Leiden University (Netherlands), and it is the first hub of the international Open Science Hub network financed by the European Commission. This network of 9 countries aims to engage and support schools and local partners in using research and innovation processes to solve local challenges and contribute to community development. Thinking ahead on the school canteen of the future constitutes a major challenge that will certainly impact on the social responsibility of future generations, at an early stage of their lives. Challenge: Noticing that the school canteen is the unique meeting point between different generations of students, teachers, and school staff, how to design it as a learning space where, beyond eating lunch, students can learn and become aware of major societal problems such as the importance of healthy eating habits, food waste, circular econmy, sustainability, among others. What will the school canteen of the future?
Contact person
João Almeida
João Almeida

joao.almeida@demola.net

Concluded project

Basic information

Apply by

22 Oct 2023

Location

IP Bragança

Teamwork

Online

Language

English

Timeline

Project starts

31 Oct 2023

Project ends

19 Jan 2024

Related tags

#canteen

#food

#health and well-being

#sustainable food choices