Edutainment Project Healthy Nutrition for Kids

Project of NGO Zdorovbud!

The project became one of the winners of the Bayer Ukraine Future of Grants grant program in 2020 and showed impressive results, so in 2021 it was decided to support Zdorovbud and provide financial support to continue the project as part of the corporate charity program.

Bayer is an international company working in the fields of healthcare and agriculture. Sustainable development is an integral part of Bayer’s strategy. The company believes that commercial success in the long run is possible only with socially responsible business. Every year, Bayer supports social projects that help bring about positive change in society. All supported projects are united by Bayer’s vision: “Health for all, hunger for none.”

The problem of unhealthy nutrition is large-scale at the global level and at the level of Ukraine, according to the WHO and the Ministry of Health. 40% of the world’s adult population is overweight or obese, while in Ukraine 50% of Ukrainians over 35 are overweight or obese. Malnutrition is a major cause of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, cancer and other diseases. The main reasons: available high-calorie food, low level of physical activity. Equally important is the impact on the environment of the processes of food production and consumption. Rules of conscious nutrition and eco-thinking will help save our planet from pollution, and educational initiatives will motivate and teach children and adults a healthy lifestyle.

Project mission is to teach and motivate kids and parents to healthy eating and healthy lifestyle.

The project developed an annual training program (agreed with the Public Health Center of the Ministry of Health & Dietologists’ Association of Ukraine), during which experts told children why it is so important to choose healthy food instead of deep processed foods high in sugar. salt, fat and fast calories; what is food waste; and how to eat to maintain our own health and the health of our planet.

60 online events and 120 activities were held in 5 regions of Ukraine; communication with parents and family members was conducted through creative homework. In order to inspire families to change their eating behavior, the website of the training course “Good for us, good for the planet” has been developed. On the site you can find detailed information about the programs “Plate of healthy eating”, “Very sweet lesson”, “Eat smart”. Useful information is applicable for downloading. 

In addition, the site has a selection of interviews with experts on various topics: the aspects of the impact of unbalanced diet on children’s health, the problems of excessive sugar consumption, the useful recommendations of experts. Special attention is paid to creative homework, which is designed to help children better absorb information at events and practice daily changes to a healthy lifestyle.

Duration of the project – 7 months

Project results:

  • 60 events + 120 activities  run on 3 topics in 3-5 regions of Ukraine
  • ~10 000 people reached at schools (schoolchildren, teachers, parents etc)
  • ~800 000 people reached online in social media, regional media
  • 90+% positive reviews from kids, teachers, parents
  • Mini-survey conducted on changes in eating habits
  • Project activities have led to such changes as:

The most important is the feedback and comments of the actual participants of the course – children. At the end of each event, children could express themselves and express their opinion. Participants said that they found it interesting and useful to learn something new about healthy eating and plan to share the information they heard and will use tips and life hacks in their daily diet.

Interesting and valuable is the opinion of teachers about the course activities. Here, teachers are often like-minded about the project, as schools are gradually becoming interested in the issue of unhealthy nutrition and its consequences for children, and caring teachers have already raised similar topics in their classrooms. Therefore, the course is a great addition and continuation of the work already started.

Positive feedback from parents whose children participated in the event – give examples when a child asks to buy a product because he wants to try it, when the child takes the initiative to cook healthy meals with adults, when parents pay attention to the importance of “correct” school snacks, when children and parents are guided by the principles of forming a healthy plate for the purchase of products.

Thanks to the interesting creative homework that children are offered after each event, they better remember information and learn to use it (say, with the help of the “palm rule”, which reminds of portions of food from each sector of the plate, children understand how much food should be on a plate). So, the practical skills that children gain at events are a great way to learn.

“We know and understand the painful issues of unhealthy nutrition, which has a large scale at the global level and at the level of Ukraine. That is why, as a socially responsible company, we invest every year in those projects that allow us to partially solve them together with the public and lay the foundation for further positive changes, “said Vitaliy Fedchuk, Head of Communications at Bayer in Ukraine.

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