NEW MENU COOKING COMPETITION – SCHOOL MEALS WITH CHILDREN
On December 6th, at Nghia Tan Secondary School, the School Nutritional Food Project organized a cooking competition for a new menu – School meals with children – with the participation of over 100 delegates from four project schools: Nghia Tan Secondary School, Nam Trung Yen Secondary School, Truong Cong Giai Secondary School, and Yen Hoa Secondary School, representatives from secondary schools in Yen Hoa ward, including nutrition experts, parents, students, school principals, teachers, representatives from food suppliers Buoc Com Viet, Ban Mai, and Huong Viet Sinh, and representatives from Rikolto and the C&E center.
Following the opening remarks and welcome speech by Ms. Bui Thi Thanh Thuy – Director of the C&E Center, Ms. Chu Thi Nhu Quynh – Vice Principal of Nghia Tan Secondary School, shared about the school’s involvement with the project, the activities implemented at the school, and her feelings about being chosen as the host for this meaningful event.
She emphasized that raising nutritional awareness among secondary school students is a long-term process requiring patience, creativity, and dedication from the school, families, and stakeholders. This competition is not only a creative experiential activity but also an opportunity to instill in students accurate knowledge about nutrition, thereby forming healthy eating habits from a young age. Her sincere sharing demonstrates the school’s proactive approach, responsibility, and strong commitment to improving the quality of school meals.
Following the program was a professional presentation by Ms. Vuong Thi Ho Ngoc, a nutrition expert, focusing on how to build and implement diverse, nutritious menus suitable for teenagers. According to the expert, school menus need to ensure a complete and balanced intake of nutrients, a variety of foods, and suitability to the actual cooking conditions in the school cafeteria. The amount of vegetables in the meal needs to be carefully calculated, with approximately 90g of vegetables in stir-fried or boiled dishes and about 30g in soups to ensure sufficient micronutrient needs for students. In addition, limiting sugar and salt, and controlling seasonings are also crucial to prevent non-communicable diseases from an early age.
The expert also dedicated significant time to analyzing the needs for water, calcium, and milk – elements often deficient in students’ diets. It is recommended that students drink approximately 40ml of water per kilogram of body weight per day. Regarding calcium, approximately 600ml of milk per day is needed to meet the required intake. Therefore, the role of family supplementation is extremely important through giving children milk, increasing seafood consumption, sun exposure, and appropriate exercise. Experts also warned about the risks of excessive sugar consumption from milk tea and soft drinks, helping parents and students clearly identify the link between sugary drinks and the risk of obesity and metabolic disorders. Another important point in the sharing session was that changing eating habits requires a suitable plan. Reducing salt and fat should not be done abruptly but should be adjusted gradually to make it easier for students to accept. The new menu must stem from the actual tastes of students, and then gradually adjusted towards a healthier direction. Experts also recommended increasing seafood in the diet, with at least two fish meals per week to improve protein and micronutrient quality. The content provided by nutrition experts offered invaluable knowledge and information to parents and teachers in improving nutrition not only in school lunch programs but also in building healthy eating habits for students.
Within the framework of the program, representatives from Nam Trung Yen Secondary School and Yen Hoa Secondary School shared their practical experiences in implementing the pilot menu at their respective schools. Mr. Nguyen Duc Thanh, Vice Principal of Nam Trung Yen Secondary School, said that the initial implementation faced many difficulties, but the school proactively selected suitable menus for application and received positive feedback from students. The process of recording feedback and monitoring food allergy cases was also carried out rigorously to ensure safety and suitability for each student. The representative from Yen Hoa Secondary School highly appreciated the flexibility of the school’s kitchen in implementing the new menu. The school not only organized cooking sessions but also focused on internal communication, explaining to students the benefits of eating vegetables and a diverse diet. Close collaboration between the project, the school, the kitchen, and parents was considered a key factor in the gradual acceptance of the new menu by students. Parents’ and teachers’ opinions and questions were also fully received by the organizing committee and forwarded to experts for clarification.
At the end of the workshop, teams from four secondary schools – Nghia Tan Secondary School, Nam Trung Yen Secondary School, Truong Cong Giai Secondary School, and Yen Hoa Secondary School – began competing in cooking school meals based on the project’s new menu. The unique aspect of the competition was the collaboration between students and parents to create dishes that were visually appealing, fragrant, and flavorful. The atmosphere became more vibrant than ever with the enthusiastic spirit and seamless coordination from the selection of ingredients, preparation, cooking, to the presentation of the dishes by the competing teams. Each dish was not only a product of skill and creativity, but also reflected an understanding of the nutritional principles and food safety and hygiene shared in the program beforehand.
As the program drew to a close, Ms. Truong Thi Thu Hien – Party Secretary and Principal of Nghia Tan Secondary School – delivered the closing remarks on behalf of the school. In her speech, she expressed her deep gratitude to the C&E Center, nutrition experts, delegates, parents, and students for their support in the journey of innovating school meals. She affirmed that this activity has practical significance, contributing to building a healthy and sustainable educational environment. At the same time, the school expects to continue receiving close cooperation from all parties so that innovations in nutrition can continue to spread, creating positive and lasting changes for students.
After a thorough discussion and evaluation based on criteria including ingredients and cost, nutritional value, flavor, food safety and hygiene, technique, and presentation, the judging panel announced the results for the four competing teams.
Nghia Tan Secondary School won the “Freshest and Most Delicious Dish” award with dishes that retained the original flavor of the ingredients, emphasizing freshness and a reasonable combination of food. Nam Trung Yen Secondary School won the “Most Popular Dish” award, voted on by parents and students, thanks to their delicious dishes that suited the tastes of the majority of the audience. The Yen Hoa Secondary School team received the “Most Visually Appealing Dish” award, scoring highly with dishes that were not only delicious but also attractively presented. The Truong Cong Giai Secondary School team was awarded the “Most Creative Dish” prize for their flexibility in ingredient selection and recipe variations, creating a warm and familiar home-cooked meal experience.
The “School Meal with Your Child” cooking competition concluded with many beautiful moments, leaving a deep impression on parents, students, and all attendees. More than just an experiential activity, the program is a significant step forward in improving the quality of school meals, based on strong collaboration between schools, families, and nutrition experts, working together for a healthy, active, and happy generation of students.