About 60 parent-pupil pairs from the five Goducate Literacy Center sites in Laguna, Philippines, participated in the drawing contest held on Nutrition Day on July 25. That Nutrition Day was part of the nation’s observance of Nutrition Month, whose theme was Gutom at malnutrisyon, Sama-sama nating wakasan (Together, we can end hunger and malnutrition).
For the contest, the parents outlined the shapes of the different vegetables and fruits. Their children, who are attending Goducate Literacy Center nursery classes, waited with excitement for their turn to color the drawings.
In this fast-food generation, children prefer to eat junk food such as hotdogs, burgers, chips, soda, and processed food over fruits and vegetables. A study from the Food and Nutrition Research Institute (FNRI) revealed that Laguna is one of the provinces with the lowest consumers of vegetables. FNRI reported that a person may eat only 92 grams of vegetables a day, whereas the daily amount recommended by the World Health Organization is 400 grams.
Eating fewer fruits and vegetables may result in hidden hunger or deficiency of micronutrients such as vitamin A, zinc, and iron. Harvest Plus reported that hidden hunger can cause blindness, stunting, lower IQ and resistance to diseases, and can increase the risks for both mother and infant during childbirth.
After the children had colored their parents’ sketches, a simple gallery of the drawings was mounted on the wall for a brief presentation, as well as for the judges to pick up the winners. Three winners were picked from each of the five Goducate Literacy Center sites (Tranca, Maitim, Sitio Ulik, Sitio 74, and Talahiban).
We hope that teaming up parents with their children in the drawing contest will inculcate in parents, especially the mothers, the value of fruits and vegetables in the daily diet, and thus the health, of their family.
.