Food and Nutrition Programme
Krystal Va'a
Carmel College
Year 13 Food Technology, Full-year unit
Teacher: Sandy Goonan
Krystal's Food Technology Food and Nutrition Programme was sparked by the media focus on childhood obesity, malnutrition and the lack of nutritious food in some homes. She wondered about the nutritional awareness of children in poorer areas, and approached the principal of a local Decile 1 School and discussed the extent to which such problems occur, how schools deal with them and food programmes available to lower decile schools.
Krystal interviewed a girl and a boy from each level at the school, asking about the food they ate, their attitudes to food, and related points such as levels of activity and sleep patterns. She found that while these students had a general understanding of basic health and nutrition, they didn't often apply this knowledge to their eating habits.
Food technologist Carol Pound suggested Krystal ask these students to keep a food diary for three days. The diaries showed that unhealthy eating tended to occur after school, when children snacked on unhealthy food and drinks, or didn't eat at all, sometimes because they weren't used to preparing their own food.
Krystal decided to create a pilot programme to teach children to make healthy snacks and to be more independent in feeding themselves after school. After discussing her idea with the Board of Trustees, she was asked to start the following week! Seven students from the school's after-school programme were selected for her programme, which ran for three afternoons a week over a month.
Krystal focussed on foods that students would enjoy eating and have fun preparing. The group first prepared smoothies, using a variety of fruits to show that ingredients can be varied according to taste and season. They moved on to making sandwiches from a range of fillings, and then wraps, as an example of using similar ingredients to make an alternative meal.
Krystal taught the children how to make toasted sandwiches in a pan, to show that equipment at home can be adapted for a task and that specialised 'high tech' appliances aren't essential. She continued this theme with pancake-making – instead of a blender, a whisk or even a fork can be used.
The children also made biscuits, pizza and scroggin. During each lesson Krystal discussed the nutritional value of each food, using scroggin as an example of a food suitable for high energy requirements but that can also be made in a healthier version. She taught different ways of measuring ingredients, how to follow a written recipe, and constantly reinforced the food hygiene message.
Krystal says the students enjoyed the programme and it gave them incentive to make these foods on their own. "It's a good programme – students see it as fun but they are learning from it. Other programmes provide lunches, but teaching students to make their own food is more helpful in the long run".
She visited the school the following term to get a final evaluation from the students, parents and the principal, and to see to whether the students' eating habits had changed since the programme began. Student enthusiasm was such that she ran more classes in term 4, after the end of exams.
Krystal says she has enjoyed the process, evaluation, and process/product development aspects of Food Technology: "You find out so much and, when things don't go to plan, find new ways of doing things." Krystal plans to study Health and Sciences at the University of Auckland in 2008, and follow a career in medicine.
Teacher comment
This wasn't the usual type of product development project that many students choose to work on. Krystal was dealing with societal issues that she felt the media and general public perceived as commonplace in lower socio-economic schools. The major focus was to plan what she needed to do to address her proposed outcome and how she could carry it out in a sensitive and ethical way. When Krystal reflected on her project, a main consideration was how it could be improved if another student decided to continue with the programme in 2008. Both Krystal and the school's principal felt there was a lot of potential for future development.
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