New Zealand has launched a new digital education program to teach primary school children about nutrition. The Food for Thought initiative has introduced Nutrition Quest, a gamified learning platform for Year 5 and 6 students, expanding access to schools across the country.
The online platform combines interactive storytelling with practical activities. Students navigate animated food group islands, complete supermarket shopping tasks, identify a range of fruit and vegetables, and calculate sugar content in drinks. The aim is to provide students with tools to make informed decisions about food.
Sandy Botterill, Head of Environmental Social Governance at Foodstuffs NZ, said: “Learning about nutrition at an early age is important because it helps instil healthy behaviours tamariki can carry through life, helping set them up for healthier futures. We want to be able to reach as many schools as possible with our program, and by having a digital offering, it truly opens it up to all primary schools.”
The platform is free to use and aligned with the national curriculum, offering animated content, lesson plans, teacher resources, and student activities in one place.
Since 2007, more than 265,000 students have participated in the Food for Thought nutrition education program, funded by Foodstuffs co-operatives and delivered with the Heart Foundation. Traditionally, the program involved a qualified nutritionist visiting classrooms and leading supermarket visits at PAK’nSAVE, New World, or Four Square stores. With the new digital component, access can be extended to all schools in New Zealand.
Justine Munro, Head of Prevention at the Heart Foundation, said: “Food has such a big impact on our health, so we’re really invested in helping support students to develop lifelong skills around food and food literacy so they’re able to make great choices throughout their lives – and it’ll have a wonderful effect on their heart health long term.”
Arahoe School in New Lynn, Auckland, was among the first to test Nutrition Quest. Deputy Principal Vanessa Jansz said: “Using Nutrition Quest is useful for the children because they’re learning through gamification, and most of our kids are really engaged when they learn through games. The children easily picked up what they were supposed to do because of the colour and the content; it was so engaging for them. The instructions are easy to understand, and they’re learning on the go and sharing it with their peers, but also with their families.”
Source: Foodstuffs