After a series of school visits and background research, the Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development selected 30 Serbian primary schools for Strength2Food’s school meals pilot scheme.
The schools are spread throughout Serbia, in Belgrade City, Novi Sad, Mionica, Bajina Basta, Loznica Arile and Ivanjica. Each school has been asked to provide a coordinator for the project, with whom Strength2Food researchers will work closely. Schools have also been informed of activities for school directors and administrators, teachers and kitchen staff. Amongst them is a request to give feedback on a web site currently in preparation by Strength2Food staff from MPN, with input from BEL and EUTA (BSN). The site is specifically designed in Serbian for primary schools and all their stakeholders.
As well as educational materials provided by EUFIC, BARILLA and ZAG, which are being translated where necessary into Serbian, the project is currently collecting documents from Serbian institutions that specifically target children’s eating habits and provide suggestions on how they can be improved.
Strength2Food is also collecting menus that school cooks can use to help them plan more nutritionally-balanced meals for their children. They expect the new web site to go live in mid-February.
The 30 schools were specifically referred to in another TV interview with EUTA’s Ratko Bojovic, broadcast on RTS 1’s prime time programme Beogradska Hronika (Belgrade Chronicle) on Thursday, January 25. The interview and video are available in Serbian starting at 4:00.
The project looks forward to working closely with the 30 schools to help them with procurement criteria to improve food quality, with teachers to improve nutritional awareness of children and parents, as well as with cooks to improve the nutrition of school meals that children will enjoy.
