Children of any ages need to be cared for nutrition so that they can maximize their physical and intellectual potential.

Besides providing nutrition-balanced meals, shaping healthy and scientific eating habits for children from their early life plays an important role.

In recent years, education on nutritional knowledge for primary pupils has been increasingly focused. Many primary boarding schools are now using the “Three minutes to change awareness” Poster in nutrition educating for pupils. This is one of the key contents of the School Meals Project, implemented by the Ministry of Education and Training, in collaboration with the National Institute of Nutrition - Ministry of Health and Ajinomoto Vietnam since 2012.

The poster provides basic nutritional information of a variety of foods by groups of vitamins, minerals, benefits, etc. These pieces of information are vividly illustrated with images, helping pupils easily absorb and remember. Schools can print and hang posters in crowded common areas such as corridors, cafeterias, canteens or use it in classrooms.

Before each lunch time, along with the poster, pupils will be introduced to the lunch menu, ingredients and nutritional information of the foods included in each dish. Teachers can flexibly organize interactive activities such as Q & A, quiz so that pupils can learn better.

Understanding the benefits of foods to health helps children gradually change their eating habits. Instead of eating only familiar foods such as pork, beef, chicken or fried, grilled dishes, pupils have got used to eating and have eaten various kinds of foods, especially vegetables - the abundant source of micronutrients for the comprehensive development of children.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Nga - form teacher of class 3/4, Dong Hoa B Primary School (Binh Duong) said: “After a while, I realize that most of the pupils in my class have had a better understanding of the role of each kind of food to health, since then they have eaten foods that they did not like before, such as vegetables, fish, mushrooms, and the amount of leftovers has also decreased. I am very excited seeing the children eat well and eat up their portions”.

At home, parents can also learn about nutrition with their kids by downloading the “Three minutes to change awareness” Poster at http://bit.ly/apphich3p. Together with schools, creating conditions for children to be exposed to nutritional knowledge at home contributes to forming a scientific and healthy eating habit, ensuring the comprehensive development of stature and intelligence for future generations.

In addition to the poster, the School Meal project has also deployed to schools the Nutrition-balanced Menus Development Software. The free software offers 120 sets of menus with over 360 non-repeatable dishes for boarding lunches. The menus combine a variety of foods, ensuring nutritional balance according to age needs and in accordance with the conditions of many regions.

As of January 2020, more than 3,645 primary boarding schools in 62 provinces and cities across the country are applying the software in menu preparation as well as the poster in nutritional knowledge education for pupils.