‘Phunking up’ the teaching of nutrition in primary schools

PHUNKY FOODS is a new initiative which will offer support, guidance and inspiration to primary school teachers to help children seriously learn about Nutrition. In response to the obvious need for improved nutrition and physical activity in school children, Purely Nutrition have developed a unique service for the schools sector. The selling point of Phunky Foods is that it taps into Purely Nutrition’s large database of nutritionists and dietitians, including specialists in children’s nutrition, who can offer expert, up-to-date information offering a complete rolling curriculum for key stage 1 & 2 and an ideal turn key solution for PPA time.

[UKPRwire, Fri Jan 27 2006] Yorkshire based, nationwide organisation, Purely Nutrition, are pleased to welcome the official launch of PhunkyFoods. If you would like the children of today to seriously learn about nutrition, then a new scheme and supporting website has all the answers. WWW.PHUNKYFOODS.CO.UK is a new initiative endorsed by a variety of key food related organisations, which will offer support, guidance and inspiration to primary school teachers.

In response to the obvious need for improved nutrition and physical activity in school children, Purely Nutrition have developed a unique service for the schools sector. The selling point of PhunkyFoods is that it taps into Purely Nutrition’s large database of nutritionists and dietitians, including specialists in children’s nutrition, who can offer expert, up-to-date information.

Purely Nutrition are pleased to have received a ‘major sponsor’ from the UK food industry to help with implementing the project. Northern Foods are funding the project as part of their continued CSR plan. They will fund the 1st year pilot of PhunkyFoods, which will consist of targeting 50 Yorkshire schools in the academic year 2005/6.

Norman Pickavance, Director of Corporate Services at Northern Foods: “We are delighted to be contributing to the development of long-term healthy eating behaviours in children. Phunky Foods is a great way for us to support the local Yorkshire community and we also benefit from gaining some real insight into the eating behaviour of young children through the extensive research component of the programme.”

This nutrition project is the first of its kind, operating within schools without bias and taking resources from across the board, including government initiatives, charities and other organisations and packaging them as a whole, explaining them to the teachers and providing lesson plans in which the resources can be used.

A balanced diet in childhood helps to determine that children grow well and don’t become overweight as they mature. Unfortunately, children's diets have hit an all time low. Too much salt and fatty food, too many sugary drinks and not enough exercise have left the nation's children unhealthier than they have ever been before. Purely Nutrition firmly believes that the issue of poor diets and physical inactivity in our nation's children needs to be tackled immediately. There are a number of benefits which can be reached by improving the diets of young children, such as enhanced school performance, increased concentration and even better behaved children!

PhunkyFoods have also developed the course as a complete turn key solution for the implementation of PPA time in Primary schools (PPA – Preparation, Planning, Assessment – which began in September 2005, teachers need to implement 10% non contact time each week). A rolling 39-week programme which works with the National Curriculum has been developed for each year group and will be fully administered by Purely Nutrition.

Dr Jennie Cockroft: “We are so pleased to be launching PhunkyFoods this yea, and are sure it will be a resounding success, we are dedicated to enhancing the teaching of nutrition within our primary schools and are pleased to offer a comprehensive service at a fantastic price. We are the only resource in the country that offers a freelance database of nationwide nutritionists and dieticians, who have full and up-to-date registration through the British Nutrition Society or, have state registration in dietetics. Our consultants are the top nutritionists and dieticians in the country. We are also in the process of delivering a large scale nationwide awareness campaign targeting mothers in supermarkets to highlight the benefit of infant and postnatal nutrition.”
ENDS

Media Contact: Abigail Crerar at Purple Dragonfly PR on 01423 540042 / abigail@purpledragonfly.co.uk