Sort by
Sort by

Nurturing Healthier Food Habits for Children With Nutritious School Meals

Back to Press releases
Kuching
Nurturing Healthier Food Habits for Children With Nutritious School Meals

It is widely said that in order to live well, one must eat well; this is especially apt for children as good nutrition is crucial to their development as well as helping them to focus on their studies. While healthy eating habits typically begin at home, it is equally important to ensure that this philosophy is adopted at school, where children eat many of their meals for the bulk of their developing years. As the leading Nutrition, Health and Wellness company, Nestlé Malaysia today held a Food Operators’ Workshop in Kuching, Sarawak, to highlight the importance of providing nutritious meals in boarding schools. 

As part of the global initiative, the Nestlé Healthy Kids (NHK) Global Programme, the workshop was organised in collaboration with the Ministry of Education and the Nutrition Society of Malaysia. This multi-stakeholder approach effectively brings together different sets of capabilities, combining nutrition expertise with education specialists to formulate and implement a viable and sustainable programme.

The second phase of the NHK Programme in Malaysia will roll-out for three years, from 2014 to 2016 and comprises three components:

  • Train-the-Trainers’ Workshop for the educators of the boarding schools involved, who will be implementing the nutrition education modules which were developed and tested in the first phase
  • Implementation of the modules by the educators
  • Food Operators’ Workshop for those responsible to prepare meals for children in hostels

The above components will be implemented in 77 day-boarding schools across East Malaysia, benefitting more than 5,900 children in hostels.

Tuan Haji Mohamed Yamin bin Mohamed Yusof, Deputy Director (Students), School Management Division at the Ministry of Education from the Ministry of Education said, “Schools are often regarded as children’s second homes, particularly in the day-boarding schools involved in this programme. Hence, we must do our level best to ensure that our young ones are able to thrive in this environment. As the nation continues to move towards our objective of becoming a developed nation, it is imperative that we take a holistic approach to ensure a bright future for Malaysia’s youth. Proper nutrition certainly plays an integral role in this and together with Nestlé and the Nutrition Society of Malaysia, the Ministry of Education is glad to be a part of this platform which supports healthy and wholesome meals in schools.”

A total of 231 participants comprising hostel chief cooks, hostel canteen operators, hostel supervisors and student affairs assistant from day-boarding schools across Sabah and Sarawak took part in the workshop, gaining valuable insights into practical methods of nutritious food preparation. During the workshop, participants were taught about basic nutrition and the principles of preparing healthier meals by Dr. Zawiah Hashim, a member of the Nestlé Healthy Kids Expert Committee.

To put this session to practical use, Chef Ricky Chan, Head of Professional Development Chef at Nestlé Professional Malaysia, gave a cooking demonstration during which participants keenly observed how nutritious food can easily be prepared. Many of the dishes were typical dishes regularly cooked at hostel canteens, such as Ayam Goreng Berempah, Nasi Ayam Hainan, and Kari Ayam dengan Kentang, using simple and affordable recipes to create healthier meals.

In addition to the cooking demonstration by Chef Ricky, participants of the workshop were also given a detailed presentation on the importance of food safety and hygiene. This presentation was conducted by Hii Ann Nei, Quality Assurance Manager at the Nestlé Kuching factory.

According to Dr. Tee E Siong, Chairman of the NHK Expert Committee and President of the Nutrition Society of Malaysia, “Our partnership with Nestlé for the NHK Programme since its launch in Malaysia in 2010 has seen many caregivers of young children gain greater awareness on the importance of nutritious food. This is indeed an important endeavour, as children spend a large part of their days in school and as such, it is vital to ensure that they have access to nutritious and balanced meals. Especially at this stage in their development, a well-balanced diet will ensure that children receive all the necessary nutrients to help them grow into healthy adults.”

Zainun Nur Abdul Rauf, Executive Director of Group Corporate Affairs, Nestlé Malaysia, said, “We are pleased to collaborate with the Ministry of Education and the Nutrition Society of Malaysia in the NHK Programme. We are confident that this collaboration will allow the NHK Programme to reach more children, and we remain committed to promoting greater awareness of healthy lifestyles.”

“The Food Operators’ Workshop follows close on the heels of the Train-the-Trainers Workshop which was held recently as part of the NHK Programme, establishing a comprehensive platform and holistic approach to educate both teachers and hostel food operators on the importance of nutrition for children in hostels. The objective of the Train-the-Trainers Workshop was aimed at training the teachers in East Malaysia on the use of the Nestlé Healthy Kids Programme module. These teachers will, in turn be teaching these modules to the children in their respective boarding schools. Over the long-term, nurturing a tradition of good nutrition can have a lasting impact by creating a very positive eco-system, whereby children will be able to benefit from improved nutrition education as well as healthier meals at school,” concluded Zainun.

The NHK Programme is in line with the philosophy of Creating Shared Value, Nestlé’s way of doing business. Nestlé believes that in order to create long-term value for the company, it must also create value for the society at the same time.

____________________________________________________________________________

For more information, please contact:

Immy Ooi
Nestlé (Malaysia) Berhad
Tel: (+603) 7965 6729
Email: [email protected]

Michelle Vincent
acorn communications
Tel: (+603) 7958 8348
Email: [email protected]