The Alok Institute has partnered with the Comida e Cultura Institute (Food and Culture Institute), founded by Bela Gil, along with professionals who advocate for education, and healthy appropriate food, particularly among children and young people. The Alok Institute supports the contest “Kitchens & Childhood: Articulating Knowledge and Practices of Healthy Eating in Early Childhood Education,” promoted by the School Food Coordination (CODAE) of the São Paulo Municipal Education Secretariat, the Comida e Cultura Institute (ICC), and the School of Public Health at the University of São Paulo (FSP-USP), with awards in the second half of 2024.
The contest aims to value the development of Food Education projects in São Paulo’s Municipal Nursery Schools (EMEIs) and Municipal Early Childhood Education Centers (CEMEIs). The partnership also strengthens the Cozinhas & Infâncias (Kitchens & Infancy) program, developed by the ICC to train educators, teachers, school managers, nutritionists, and school cooks in food education. The goal is to prioritize adequate and healthy food as a universal right and to encourage schools to incorporate Food and Nutritional Education (EAN) into their curricula from early childhood.
The Cozinhas & Infâncias program has been developed in São Paulo since 2022. It is designed to align with the National Common Curricular Base (BNCC), the National Curriculum Guidelines for Early Childhood Education, and the School Curriculum of São Paulo. The main proposal is to enhance children’s knowledge, cultural understanding, scientific and creative thinking, critical thinking, self-awareness, self-care, self-confidence, leadership, empathy, and cooperation.
Since 2023, Cozinhas & Infâncias has been implemented in 546 EMEI and CEMEI units in São Paulo, with the participation of 602 teachers, nutritionists, and school managers. In 2024, about 580 school cooks and nutritionists are expected to complete the training.
About the Comida e Cultura Institute
The Comida e Cultura Institute (ICC) aims to reconnect children with food through a playful recovery of Brazilian history, culture, and biodiversity. It works with the training of educators and other actors involved in the child’s comprehensive development to inspire healthy practices, promote debates, and incorporate the healthy food theme into educational curricula.
Founded by Bela Gil, Ariela Doctors, Daniella Brochado, Erika Fischer, and Juliana Furlaneto in 2021, the ICC extends its activities to fostering public policies related to food and environmental education.
About the Cozinhas & Infâncias Program
Cozinhas e Infâncias is a training and qualification program for educators, based on the Food Guide for the Brazilian Population, articulated with children’s practices and experiences. Started in 2022, the program includes educational training and practical application in schools, aiming to promote a healthy and conscious relationship between children and food by preparing educators with essential concepts and practices.
Comida e Cultura Institute Manifesto
“Food transforms. It transforms minds, bodies, and territories. Food heals or makes ill, comforts or drives mad, nourishes or malnourishes, regenerates or destroys.
Guiding children through modern and ancestral knowledge, giving them material and intellectual tools, and encouraging the act of cooking so they can make healthier choices for themselves, others, and the planet is our priority.
A child who grows up eating well is unlikely to live poorly. A child who understands the nutritional, social, and environmental impacts of food is unlikely to eat poorly. Socially responsible children will hardly leave others behind.
How and what we put on our plate today defines the future of humanity. We believe in food education as a tool for transforming a fairer food system, healthier people, and more peaceful territories.”
