Sint-Truiden (The Brussels Morning newspaper): Providing healthy snacks to students who lack nutritious food options helps improve their focus, learning, and social interactions, highlighting the link between balanced nutrition and academic success.
At 10 o’clock during the first break, students in 11 schools were happily surprised with a healthy snack to kick off the new school year. This was done because not all students bring healthy food to school, which can affect their focus and learning. By giving out healthy snacks or packed lunches, the program wanted to help all students start the year well. This shows how important good nutrition is for staying focused and doing well in school, highlighting the link between a balanced diet and academic success.
What impact do healthy snacks have on students in Sint-Truiden?
It has been said that giving out these healthy snacks not only helps students focus better but also encourages them to interact socially. Sharing food can help students make new friends and fit in more easily at school. This program shows that nutrition is important for both health and social life. By helping students who might not have healthy food options, the initiative aims to create a supportive and inclusive school community where every student can succeed.
Many schools, including Speelhof campus, have a problem with kids bringing empty or unhealthy lunch boxes. Director Pascale Lievens says that during lunch, you can often see students with no food or just cold pizza and fries. Afterward, they go to vending machines that have healthy snacks, but they usually choose junk food instead. Some students notice that their classmates don’t bring enough food, and Gabriella mentions that some say they aren’t hungry or don’t want to bring food. She finds it hard to believe, and they always share any extra food they have so everyone gets something to eat.
Yamna feels sad when she sees kids at school without food, so she shares her snacks with them. She brings healthy food because it helps her focus better. The school sells soup for a low price to help everyone eat healthy in the afternoon. They also get donations from Enchant to give out healthy snacks or breakfast sometimes during the year.
