Arla Foods has partnered with the UAE Ministry of Education to promote healthy food habits among school children.
The initiative, called Arla FOODMoovers will be rolled out across 150 public and private schools in the UAE following the success of the pilot program at Dubai British School earlier this year.
Arla FOODMoovers aims to enhance the health and nutrition habits of students through the
application of healthy food practices which will be implemented in the student clubs in selected schools in a fun and educational way. The program is based on four main phases or FOODMooves, research, get ideas, create, and maintain. The students will take responsibility to research and collect knowledge about their food and mealtime habits at home and school and use that information to develop ideas to create healthier food habits. They will then select the best idea and plan and implement their solution before sharing it with other students in the UAE and Demark, where Arla FOODMoovers has been rolled out across 200 schools. The program will culminate with a local competition in March 2019 and an international competition in April 2019, which will be judged by specialists from the UAE Ministry of Education and Arla Foods.
Speaking at the launch, HE Jameela Salem Al Muhairi, minister of state for general education in UAE highlighted the Ministry’s efforts towards the wellbeing of the students in the UAE. She said: “The UAE Ministry of Education is working towards expanding its partnerships with all international institutions and companies to support the students’ journey within UAE schools from all relevant aspects, whether academic or health related.”
Anette Holm, general manager of Arla Foods in UAE and Oman added, “We are proud to launch this initiative with the Ministry of Education in UAE. Inspiring you children to healthy food habits is very close to our heart in Arla and empowering students through new insights, teamwork, and fun with fellow students creates a strong foundation for sustainable changes in eating habits and thereby healthier living in the United Arab Emirates.”
The first phase of the interdisciplinary course will be applied to sixth grade students in the 150 participating schools across the UAE.