Awareness to Be Raised with Smart Children's Table Project

Creating Awareness Through the Smart Children's Table Project Banvit BRF, which focuses on "Sustainable Food" in its social investments, aims to establish correct eating habits in children and raise awareness about food waste through the "Smart Children's Table" project, which it has implemented with the support of the Ministry of National Education. Banvit BRF has launched new phase activities of the "Smart Children's Table" project, which it carries out within the framework of its sustainability work to contribute to the raising of healthy generations and the prevention of food waste. The introductory meeting was held in Istanbul with the participation of Banvit BRF CEO Tolga Gündüz, Nutrition Specialist and Sustainable Living Activist Dilara Koçak, and Educational Scientist and Academic Dr. Özgür Bolat. In the new phase activities of the project, which was originally conducted between 2008-2016, the aim is to establish correct eating habits in children and raise awareness about food waste. Based on the fact that eating habits are largely acquired within the family, the "Smart Children's Table" encompasses education and awareness activities on sustainable food for elementary school students, their families and teachers.

No Room for Food Waste at the Smart Children's Table

Banvit BRF CEO Tolga Gündüz, who provided information about the project and stated "We cannot afford to throw our future away in the garbage," continued his remarks as follows: "Food waste, which triggers problems such as the climate crisis and environmental pollution, is a problem for all of us. We need to change our nutrition and consumption habits today in order to make conscious use of resources a way of life and leave a beautiful world for tomorrow. At least one-third of all food produced in the world is thrown away. One-quarter of this amount could solve the world's hunger problem. Ten percent of the carbon emissions threatening our planet result from food waste. In Turkey, nearly half of the garbage collected in a year consists of food waste. Among the places where food waste occurs most are our homes. The way to prevent food waste is conscious food consumption. The Smart Children's Table aims to create this consciousness.

As Banvit BRF, we are placing "Sustainable Food" at the focus of our work.

Noting that they are working to raise a generation that will play a role in reducing food waste, Gündüz said: "On the road to this goal, we are pleased to take determined steps to initiate change with parents and teachers who will assume a decisive role in conscious food consumption through the Smart Children's Table. Under the leadership of dear Dilara Koçak and Dr. Özgür Bolat, with educational and instructive content prepared by experts in their fields, the Smart Children's Table, which raises awareness among our children about the correct use of resources and food consumption, has a single goal: to reduce food waste by instilling conscious food consumption habits in future generations from today. In this regard, I would like to thank BRF Institute, which supports us and contributes to the formation of our global company's sustainability roadmap."

You Are Responsible for What You Don't Eat

Dilara Koçak, Nutrition Specialist and Sustainable Living Activist who leads the Smart Children's Table Project with educational content, stated: "Shopping for nutrition is also a choice and not just a commercial action. If you buy again something you have at home, that is waste. You need to read the label on food correctly, check the expiration date, and pay attention to where you buy from. At this point, it is very valuable to emphasize global hunger. We told individuals: Whatever you eat, you are responsible for what you consume. Parents always said that I am responsible for what I feed my child. Forget that and now you are not responsible for what you eat, but for what you don't eat. You are also responsible for what your child does not eat and leaves behind. This is a moral, ethical and human responsibility. Before throwing away your garbage for 2-3 days, empty it onto a surface and take a photo. Is there still something there that can be eaten? Because now it is time to take responsibility for what we don't eat. This project excites us greatly. When we share the results, we hope it will be a project that settles well within us," she said. Dr. Özgür Bolat, one of the project leaders and an educational scientist, emphasized that nutrition is a relationship established with life. Drawing attention to the relationship between nutrition and self-confidence, and touching on three foundations of self-confidence, Bolat stated: "For the concept of self-efficacy, when a child is forced to eat, hidden messages are given such as you cannot read your own hunger signals, you cannot make your own decision about food. When children are forced to eat, they resist. They don't eat their meal and this leads to waste, or they cannot manage their emotions. Autonomy is the child's ability to make their own decisions. It is important for the child to participate in food tasting and activities such as cooking together. If the child cannot make their own decision about how much to eat, their autonomy decreases. A correct nutrition culture plays a role in the child making their own decision. Third, we see self-worth. It is important for the child to be accepted by their mother and father as they are. Here, children who don't eat are often resisting not eating, but the pressure from their parents. Food waste is rooted in parents creating a healthy nutrition culture at home," he said.

Everyone Will Be Able to Access Content Prepared by Experts

Within the framework of contributions from the Ministry of National Education, educational content created by Nutrition Specialist and Sustainable Living Activist Dilara Koçak and Educational Scientist and Academic Dr. Özgür Bolat, along with other nutrition and child development experts, will be accessible to all teachers, families and students in Turkey in the coming period. On the website, a digital environment created with content from nutrition and child development experts provides various information on food and food waste, and users will be able to obtain a certificate upon completion of the trainings they participate in. The project, integrated with social media accounts, also has an inclusive structure centered on parents, fathers, teachers and children. Interactive social media account management will also be carried out for families, especially mothers, to obtain information through social media. With face-to-face trainings to be launched through the online platform, it is aimed to reach 3,000 families and teachers directly by the end of the year.