Conference & Workshop “Nutrition-Aware School”

Conference and workshop “Nutrition-Aware School” takes place in Tõrvandi School at October 17th, 2024.

The day is dedicated to finding solutions for improving the quality of school meals and ensuring a healthier future for our children. The event brings together educational and municipality leaders, nutrition experts and the community. During the first part of the day, the state perspective of the School Food Roadmap will be introduced with the main purpose to agree on  priority activities to ensure that the school lunch meets the age-appropriate energy and nutrient needs of children while being healthy and accessible to all children. Also, the ways for improving the quality of school food and shaping young people's eating habits will be discussed, as well as students' views and expectations for catering arrangements and tasty school food.

During the second part of the day, five practical workshops will be organised in order to find effective and innovative solutions to various challenges our schools are facing, including better organization of catering in schools, changing students’ eating habits, integrating food education a part of the curriculum,  motivating school chefs and kitchen staff. The results of the group work to be done in all workshops will be reviewed on the big stage before official ending of the event.

The aim of the conference and workshops is to prioritize food education both at the local government and state level, to emphasize the importance of healthy and tasty school lunches affecting directly the mental and physical abilities of our children, to develop and promote healthy eating habits among children, to introduce food education initiatives and good practices and to learn from them.

➡️ REGISTER HERE

AGENDA

9.30-10.00 Registration/Morning Coffee

10.00 Welcome and Opening Remarks: Jarno Laur, Chair of the Tartu County Municipalities Association.

10.15-12.00 Presentations

Ingrid Põldsaar, advisor from the Ministry of Social Affairs' Public Health Department, will share the government’s perspective.

Taavi Tillmann, Associate Professor of Public Health at the University of Tartu, will explain the discrepancies between ideal and average meal and how to reduce this difference in school meals.

Jesper Holter, medical student and coordinator of the Conscious Eating Project of the Estonian Medical Students' Society (EAÜS) since 2024, will talk about the basics of young people's nutrition and what happens in the body when meals are irregular.

Tuuli Taimur, senior specialist and nutrition expert at the Health Development Institute, will talk about the formation of eating habits and interventions to overcome specificities

Panel discussion – What is the students' view and expectations for catering arrangements at school?

12.00-13.00 Lunch Break - School Lunch

13.00-15.00 Workshops (5 workshops to be held simultaneously; please choose which workshop you wish to attend during registration)

• Workshop No 1: How to make the preschool and school chef profession attractive?"

Moderator: Emily Vigel, Tartu Vocational College (VOCO)

In Tartu county, there is no further education of chefs in educational institutions and we are already in a critical situation in this respect - this is the main outcome from a recent study of the organization of catering in educational institutions in Tartu County. During the workshop, we will discuss why working as a chef in educational institutions is not the first choice for young people and what should be done to popularize the profession of a school chef.

• Workshop No 2: From a refueling break to a well-being break - food education initiatives that create change

Moderator: Harald Lepisk, International Inspiration Coach (Inspiratsioon.ee).

Debaters: Aile Kilgi, Director of Melliste School, and Päivi Märjamaa, Director of Puhja School.

School meals are an important part of the school day, significantly affecting our children - their well-being, concentration, mood and academic success depend on this. A meal break can simply be a 15-minute pause between two lessons, but it can also be a time for children and students to enjoy food in a pleasant environment. During the workshop, we will share good practices and discuss how to design the meal break so that in addition to filling their stomachs, students’ well-being also increases.

• Workshop No 3: Changing eating Habits of Children and Youth - Opportunities and Challenges

Moderator: Allan Hallik, Health Promotion Specialist, The Association of Municipalities of Tartu County

Debaters: Jaanus Jõeorg, Administrative manager of Lohkva Kindergarten, Gloria Taaber, student at Parksepa High School, Terje Rüütel, Director of Kambja Kindergarten Mesimumm.

Changing the eating habits of children and youth requires creativity and comprehensive cooperation. Even if the food offered is tasty, nutritious and supporting the well-being of children,  the challenge lies in finding a balance among taste, attractiveness, and nutritional value to make healthy eating a part of everyday life while competing with unhealthy habits and food culture. During the workshop, we will discuss whether and how much educational institutions should change the eating habits of our children and what opportunities and challenges this brings.

• Workshop No 4: Retain, motivate and inspire your team!

Moderator: Liis Rosin, Mayor of Kambja Municipality.

Debaters: Krista Loog, Head of Elva Services, and Siim Roomet, Head Chef of Tõrvandi School's school.

There is a significant shortage of catering service employees in kindergartens and schools and when an employee wishes to leave, it is a considerable blow to the employer. Kitchen staff cannot be retained solely by the kitchen or catering service manager. Since the work of chefs is being assessed every school day, and in kindergartens even three times a day, the motivation of catering service employees is influenced by parents, school leaders, municipal leaders, specialists and the kitchen manager. During this workshop, we will discuss what needs to be done for chefs and kitchen staff to feel motivated and valued. What can parents, school leaders, municipal leaders, specialists, and kitchen managers can and should do in this regard? How to support the professional development of our school chefs and ensure a new generation of chefs?

• Workshop No 5: What changes should be made so that students no longer have to go to the snack bar?

Moderator: Anna Celine Kraus, medical student and coordinator of the Conscious Eating Project of EAÜS (2022-2024).

What are the needs of the school community that are currently met by the snack bar at the school or nearby food store? How can we meet these needs in a way that helps ensure good eating habits? Let's put our heads together and come up with practical recommendations for improving the situation. The Estonian Medical Students’ Society is an organization uniting students of medicine in Estonia.They organize various training sessions for future doctors and people outside the medical faculty, including conscious eating workshops for students at schools.

15.00-15.15 Stretch and Coffee Break

15.15-16.00 Workshop Summaries and Closing (in the conference main hall)

Please note that the event will be held in Estonian with simultaneous translation provided to foreign guests.