A new edition of Fruteá Tu Escuela, the contest organized by Tropical Argentina that invites to eat fresh fruits in the school environment, is coming. Registrations to win a year of free fruits for the whole school will be open until August 4.
Under the motto “more peels, less wrappers”, the contest not only aims to promote healthy eating but also to demonstrate that fruit consumption is an environmentally responsible decision. Children and teenagers are great allies of environmental care, that’s why they appeal to them so they can connect these two important topics.
Ultra-processed and packaged foods generate a lot of waste (mostly plastics) and that’s why fruit becomes a great friend of health and the environment.
According to data from the 2023 program for the environment by the UN, 36% of all plastics produced worldwide are destined for packaging. Mainly, these are single-use plastics for food and beverages. 85% of all that plastic ends up in landfills or as “improperly managed waste”. Thinking about how to reduce the consumption of packaged foods and what to do with waste is key.
Teams of students from pre-school, primary, and secondary levels of public and private schools from all provinces of the country will be able to participate in the contest. Children and teenagers will have to work in teams on different tasks according to their educational level. In addition to a year of free fruits for the entire enrollment of the winning schools, the teachers in charge of the teams will receive a laptop, and the winning boys and girls will receive school kits.
The contest is possible thanks to the common work of various SMEs in the fruit and vegetable sector together with Tropical Argentina. Some of them are: Wiñay, Golden Fruit, Los Juanes, Amaru Inti, Argenfruit, Quillen Berries, and Fruit Plate, among others.
How to participate?
Registrations for the contest have been open since April 14 on www.FruteaTuEscuela.com.ar. Teachers can register with their personal information and will have time to submit the teams’ work until August 4 of this year.
In pre-school, the teams will have to create a poster or poster with fruit remains (peels, seeds, leaves, etc.) to convince their classmates that eating fruit is a healthy and environmentally responsible decision.
In primary school, on the other hand, they will have to create a one-panel comic strip with the same objective. Meanwhile, teenagers in secondary school will have to create a commercial or propaganda spot to convince their classmates to review their food choices.
The contest will have a total of nine national winners (three per educational level). A jury made up of representatives of allied entities will be responsible for choosing two winning teams per level. On the other hand, the public vote on the contest’s website will define the remaining winner per category.
What do schools eat?
In our country, 16.9% of children and adolescents (5 to 19 years old) in Argentina suffer from obesity according to a study conducted by UNICEF in 2023. At the same time, the same study highlights that Argentina is among the top 3 countries with the highest child obesity rates in Latin America.
In general terms, few recommended products are consumed such as dairy, meats, and fibers, but especially fruits and vegetables. According to the 2021 Argentine Social Debt Survey, 70% of children and adolescents in the country “have generally low consumption frequencies” of fruits and vegetables.
Ana Laura Campetella, director of Fruteá Tu Escuela, said, “We remain very committed to our mission. We want to invite students to observe what they eat. We know we are in a difficult context where it may seem less important to think about what we eat, however, doing so, discussing it, and in that way seeking reflection is necessary. We believe that this program is an opportunity for that. A creative invitation to look at something that is not always in focus and that is nutrition at a key stage of life such as childhood and adolescence.”
For more information, you can visit the Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter accounts of the contest, always as @fruteatuescuela.
