Primary school teachers from County Roscommon recently joined teaching colleagues from across the region for a Food Dudes Presentation Day at the Landmark Hotel, Carrick-on-Shannon to celebrate the achievements of schools that have completed their four-year participation in the award-winning Food Dudes Programme.
The four-year curriculum-linked programme includes a year of intervention, followed by three in-school Food Dudes Weeks, aimed at promoting health eating habits amongst primary schoolchildren.
The healthy eating programme encourages children to eat more fresh produce and is based on repeated tastings of fresh fruit and vegetables, rewards and positive role models.
The Food Dudes Presentation Days provide teachers with an opportunity to network and feel part of a community of change. Ideas about ways in which the Food Dudes programme can be integrated into the curriculum and daily routines are shared, and peer to peer support is encouraged.
A new and improved Food Dudes programme is currently being rolled out in schools and includes new varieties of fruits and vegetables, additional tasting days, new eco-friendly rewards, as well as new teaching and learning materials which include videos, recipes and a range of bilingual activities.
