Food Education and Menus
Buddies Elementary School accepts the Guidelines for Food Education in the Italian School, proposed by the Ministry of Education. Following these indications, it offers its students a natural, well-cared for, varied and healthy cuisine, prepared daily by a specialized catering company and located at a very short distance from the school.
Menus vary with seasons (fall – winter and spring – summer) and are repeated monthly (rotation over 4 weeks).
The Spring-Summer menu is served from September to October and from April to June, while the Fall-Winter menu is served from November to March of each school year.
Families who wish to do so are welcome to download a copy of the menus.
Meals are served freshly prepared, thus preserving all the nutritional and taste components that are indispensable for the correct dietary education of children.
Moreover, considering it important not only to educate children to a healthy and correct diet, but also to prevent the eventual occurrence of childhood obesity and related pathologies, Buddies Elementary School encourages children to consume vegetables as the first part of the meal.
Vegetables, especially if raw, consumed at the beginning of the meal, in fact: lowers the glycemic index of the blood, forms a protection in the stomach that inhibits fermentation and promotes digestion, makes nutrients more available and more absorbable, determines a sense of satiety (less 25% calories consumed), provides panallergens, substances that combat allergies and intolerances.
In addition, over time, it stimulates a greater intake of fruits and vegetables, which are otherwise little consumed, especially by children.
In order to promote proper nutrition education and stimulate the taste and healthy habit of consuming fresh fruits and vegetables, milk and dairy products, Buddies Elementary School also embraces the philosophy of the European School Fruit and Vegetable Program (for more information see the site School Fruit) and the European School Milk Program (for more information see the site http://www.lattenellescuole.it/), offering milk, yogurt, cheese, seasonal fruits and vegetables as a mid-morning and mid-afternoon snack.