Food in our Lives Erasmus Project

Project Title

Food in our Lives

Project Key Action

This project related with these key action: Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices

Project Action Type

This project related with this action type : School Exchange Partnerships

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2018

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Agriculture, forestry and fisheries; Health and wellbeing; Enterprise, industry and SMEs (incl. entrepreneurship)

Project Summary

Our project is called “Food in our lives“, a theme with many facets. The participants come from schools in Germany, France, Romania and Spain. In all, at least 130 students aged 14 – 19 years, most of them 16-17, as well as approx. 30 teachers participated in the activities, and as they are all multiplicators in their private and classroom environment, the impact of the project could be enormous. Besides, some 800 students (200 before each mobility) took part in surveys about food.We hope that the newly-gained awareness with respect to food and meals and also responsible consumption and buying habits will bring down some of the problems (waste, obesity, careless buying and eating…) we addressed.

The project started with a Short-Term Joint Staff meeting of the teachers in Germany. Besides the “technical” aspects about working out details of the project activities, there were also meetings with various representatives of organizations like the local Fair Trade shop and “Die Tafel”. We also visited local food and drink producers (a cheesemaker, a distillery of spirits) to give the participants an idea of different types of local food production.

The first LTTA in France dealt with the aspect of FOOD AS PART OF OUR CULTURAL HERITAGE. Since the food culture and tradition of France have been UNESCO world heritage since 2010, it made sense to choose this country as the starting point. Before the meeting, the participants examined and documented their eating habits under a social point of view (when, how, with whom…). In France these results were compared and presentations about similarities and differences in food traditions were made (e.g. wedding and Easter dishes). We also visited traditional food producers (cheese, candy) and learned about the history of French culinary tradition. There were also activities revealing the mutual prejudices about the food preferred in the partner countries. Furthermore the students had the chance to cook and eat regional dishes together. This was to enhance their awareness of FOOD AS AN IMPORTANT CULTURAL AND SOCIAL FACTOR.

The next “pillar” of our project is HEALTH. Before meeting in Spain for the second LTTA, students carried out surveys about the food they prefer. During the meeting, there was a lecture about the latest findings concerning healthy eating and the food pyramid by a nutritionist. We also visited a fishing port where fish auctions take place (Celeiro), and walked a part of the “Camino” to Santiago de Compostela to point out the importance of exercise for well-being. Finally, in groups, the students prepared weekly programmes that combine healthy meals with daily moderate exercise. Hopefully they will follow the good examples seen here.

The third “pillar” of our project is the aspect of WORK. Students should realize that food is not primarily made in factories, but it takes people and hard work to cultivate or raise it. As all our schools have an economic orientation, MARKETING FOOD was another obvious element to include. The entrepreneurial spirit of the students may be stimulated through the observation of marketing strategies and a practical assignment at the end.
Before the third LTTA in Romania, students took part in surveys about food marketing and distribution and about their preferred places for food shopping. In Romania, we visited those places, like the huge local market and many local producers (a bakery, where the students got to make the local specialty, pretzels ), a sausage maker, a fruit canning firm) who told us about their work, their products and their marketing channels. We also got a tour of a Research Center for (rare) Vegetables. – Finally , in international groups, the students developed a marketing strategy for a traditional product.

The fourth “pillar” of our project is ETHICS. This covers a lot of aspects; we focused on food waste, bio-food and animal welfare. Before the LTTA in Germany, all member countries prepared presentations on ethical initiatives in connection with food. This knowledge was enhanced through visit at the Fair Trade shop, “Die Tafel”, a bio-farm and a bio-wholesaler. In the end the students were motivated to plan a project week for each school aiming at promoting ethical aspects of food.
In the final Short-Term Joint Staff meeting in France the teachers intended to devise lessons about food based on the results of the project work. Due to the Corona travel ban, this meeting was cancelled. However, the teachers continued to work together virtually to develop lessons based on the project activities.

Some PRODUCTS were made in the course of the project: a European cookbook, a vocabulary booklet about food in five languages, a booklet with lesson plans on food-related topics and a video clip about our activities. Especially the vocabulary booklet and the lesson plans can be used in numerous classrooms. The EU-cookbook can inspire schools to try new dishes in a certain context, e.g. on Europe Day.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 98260 Eur

Project Coordinator

Berufskolleg Wirtschaft und Verwaltung Ahaus & Country: DE

Project Partners

• Colegiul Economic Buzau
• Lycée Jules Mousseron
• Instituto de Enseñanza Secundaria Nosa Señora dos Ollos Grandes