A novel transformational model for school food education in Pacific coastal communities
Project title
"Investigate a transformational school food education model that will contribute to improving household food environments in Pacific coastal communities"
Description
The Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR) has partnered with Monash University, Faculty of Education to 'investigate a transformational school food education model that will contribute to improving household food environments in Pacific coastal communities.'
As we seek to transform food systems, education will be a key transformational tool in bringing about the desired changes to food systems and improving health. Approaches to health and nutrition education however have largely failed to improve health outcomes. There is an urgent need for new approaches to food education. We need new education models that are interdisciplinary in nature and engage across human health, nutrition, agricultural production and food systems.
This scoping study will inform the design of a novel model of community engaged food education in the Pacific. The model moves beyond simple nutritional knowledge acquisition to develop a broader range of context-appropriate food literacies that reach across individual nutrition, agricultural practices and food environments. The new model will serve to empower young people, their families and communities to take action towards transforming agricultural production practices and local food environments.