Objectives

To become aware of how nutrition differs from family to family

Subjects

Health education, home economics

Nature

Cognitive, reflective, creative

Rationale:

Nutrition is something we learn about from a very young age.  Most of us can choose what we eat and can afford a well balanced diet.  There are many health organizations in different parts of the world which teach people about the importance of eating well.  This can be difficult when a balanced diet is impossible because of income or lack of suitable foods.  In these cases the objective is to teach people to prepare what food they have, in a way that will give them the most nutritional value.  Participants will have the opportunity to discuss the nutritional value of meals from different cultures.

Prerequisite:

Knowledge of what comprises a balanced diet

Method:

The following families can be used for this activity and assigned to the groups:  the Aratanhas from Brazil, the Abrahams from Grenada, the Prybils from the United States and the Briones from Nicaragua.

The participants will be divided into 4 groups and each group will be responsible for researching the nutritional value of meals eaten by their assigned family.

Groups can design charts to indicate foods that are eaten and their nutritional value:

1. for each meal, and
2. for the whole day.

Discuss the charts and findings.  What solutions can participants offer to improve nutritional standards for those who are struggling to feed their family but do not have adequate food?

Material:

Text:  Families of the World

Follow-up:

Participants could prepare a typical meal and serve it to the rest of the group.