How do you make healthy and sustainable food hip and trendy among your peers? With that question Jong Leren Eten Brabant came to the practice office of the Media, Art & Performance course at the Koning Willem I College in Den Bosch. It led to a challenging assignment in which students were asked to create an advertising campaign in which they convince young adults to choose healthy and sustainable food.
"It is important for students to learn about and healthy and sustainable food" believes teacher Bjoern Hofmans. "And the topic connects with the perception of our students. Many students appear to be concerned with healthy eating, or eat vegetarian or vegan food themselves."
The assignment
Three meetings were organized for the assignment of Jong Leren Eten Brabant. The project started with a kick-off meeting, explaining the assignment and its importance. Then three class farmers told about healthy and sustainable food in a so-called expert meeting. They explained what the food chain looks like and what dilemmas farmers face. During the last meeting, the students pitched their idea and received feedback from the experts and the principal.
The ideas
The students came up with beautiful and varied ideas. Eating habits were scrutinized, advertising posters were designed and a musical creative wrap-rap was composed. One of the groups recreated a Van Gogh painting with both healthy and unhealthy products.
They also came up with a magazine for young people. One of the students from the group that worked on this explains, "Our magazine includes recipes, personal stories from celebrities and tips & tricks for healthy eating. The magazine has an energetic look, so it appeals to young adults. I really enjoyed being intentional about healthy eating with this assignment. Yet I was secretly already working on it a lot, for example by cooking my own food as much as possible and using lots of vegetables."
Plans for a sequel
For the new school year, the theme of healthy and sustainable food is again on the agenda. It will be examined whether the concepts thought up can then also be put into practice. For example, in a campaign in the school canteen, or by including them in food education programs.
