To display the results of the provision of fresh fruit and vegetables by the TaiwanICDF Technical Mission for making nutritious lunches, Palau Minister of Education Dr. Dale J. Jenkin invited the President Surangel S. Whipps, Jr. and the first lady, Taiwan’s Ambassador to Palau H.E. Jessica Chienyi Lee, and Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Environment Steven Victor to go to a local public school, George B. Harris (GBH) Elementary School, to eat a nutritious lunch with the children on May 12.

President Surangel S. Whipps, Jr. said the children were very lucky to be able to eat fruit and vegetables grown by the Taiwan Technical Mission and encouraged them to eat more healthy food. He also thanked the Technical Mission and Shin Kong Wu Ho-Su Memorial Hospital for providing the fresh fruit and vegetables for the nutritious lunches and for training cooks. Minister Victor recollected that when he was a student at the school the nutritious lunch consisted of frozen vegetables, canned meat and canned fruit. GBH principal Wicliff Emul said that the children are more willing to eat vegetables they have grown themselves after the promotion of campus farms by the Technical Mission. Ambassador Lee explained to students the importance of eating fruit and vegetables to growing children. At present, the Taiwan Technical Mission provides nutritious lunches to 80% of public elementary school students in Palau, and the future target is 100%.

Traditionally, the staple food of Palau is fiber rich yellow taro. After WWII, as the local diet was heavily influenced by the US, plus the fact that rice and canned foods were cheaper, the diet of local people became mostly high-calorie, low protein and high sodium foods. Figures show that 90.1% of people there eat less than the healthy amount of fruit and vegetables on a daily basis and lack healthy eating concepts, with the result that 37.7% of adults are obese and there are also high rates of cardiovascular disease, diabetes and other chronic diseases.

In order to increase food security and promote a balanced diet, the Taiwan Technical Mission in Palau began cooperating with Shin Kong Wu Ho-Su Memorial Hospital in 2014 to use organic materials to grow high quality fruit and vegetables locally. Today, 1-1.5 tons of fresh fruit and vegetables is delivered to elementary schools every month for use in nutritious lunches; the menus have also been designed by nutrition volunteers sent by the TaiwanICDF, with cooking courses also regularly held, with the aim of improving the dietary health of Palau children. The plates of elementary school children now not only have fresh vegetables and gourds, they can also enjoy dragon fruit, pomegranate, papaya, bananas and Hami melon grown by the Technical Mission. As well as improving the food and cooking combination, Agri-food Education also allows students and parents in Palau to understand the importance of dietary health to lower the risk of chronic disease. 

Related Pictures

no:1picture

• Update: 2022/06/14
• Hits:398