ABSTRACT
This chapter provides an overview of how the Nutrition Center of the Philippines (NCP) collaborated with the Department of Education to develop a set of nutrition education modules for integration into the curriculum of elementary schoolchildren. The modules pioneered an approach in which the teacher (T) facilitates classroom and garden activities for the child (C), and gives homework for the child to accomplish with his or her parent (P). The TCP modules introduced the concepts of a healthy body, getting energy from food, food groups, and need to eat a balanced diet in Grades 1 to 4. The concepts progressed to vegetable gardening in upper elementary and students were encouraged to set up home vegetable gardens. NCP advocates the establishment of home gardens. A survey conducted in two towns showed that pre-school children in households with home gardens were more likely to eat vegetables more frequently and consequently, had higher dietary diversity scores compared to children in households without vegetable gardens. NCP’s efforts to promote the nutritional value of fruits and vegetables included a series of TV ads that featured student-written poems on fruits, vegetables, or common food items (eggs, meat). The ads entitled ‘Ang Kangkong’, ‘Ang Malunggay’, and ‘Ang Itlog’, among others, featured students reciting their poems. The series was awarded the 1985 Catholic Mass Media Awards for Best Public Service TV and Radio Advertisement.
