Mercabarna and the Association of Fruit and Vegetable Wholesale Businessmen of Barcelona (AGEM), have been awarded an honorary prize of the Spanish 5 a day Association for its 20-year programme educating schoolchildren in a how to eat a healthy diet.
Josep Tejedo, general director of Mercabarna and Maria José Sala, coordinator of the educational programme and member of the AGEM received the award during the gala that the Association held last week in Madrid.
When Mercabarna and AGEM set up the programme in 1999 it was the first in Spain to employ the 5 a day philosophy which originated in the US and has since been adopted throughout the world.
The programme seeks to reverse the decline in fruit and vegetable consumption, especially among the younger segments of the population, in favour of less healthy processed foods.
In the ensuing 20 years, more than 120,000 schoolchildren from almost 400 schools throughout Catalonia, mainly from Barcelona and its metropolitan area, have participated in the programme. Around 6,000 children between the ages of 9 and 10 participate in the campaign annually.
The campaign centres on a visit by the children to Mercabarna’s facilities where they take part in interactive classes, workshops, product tastings and a visit to the Central Fruit and Vegetable Market, followed by a healthy lunch.
Further activities in the school and at home, supported by materials from the 5-a-day programme, aim to promote the healthy eating message.
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