A diet that does not meet the qualitative and quantitative requirements of a particular age group poses great risks. This is especially relevant for children and adolescents who are growing up and for whom a regular and balanced diet is an important prerequisite for healthy physical and cognitive development. The fact that in all countries worldwide the number of overweight children and adolescents who at the same time suffer from malnutrition (so-called double burden) is steadily increasing should give reason to intensify the search for causes and solutions.
Daycare and school nutrition play a special role with regard to hidden hunger. The expansion of all-day care in daycare centers and schools offers health-promoting and sustainable catering for children and adolescents to enable them to cope with the demands of the day in a physically fit, alert and focused manner. Many countries around the world are now focusing on comprehensive all-day care for children and adolescents. Daycare and school catering has increasingly become an important component of health-promoting development (physical, mental and social). It offers the unique opportunity to strengthen social participation while taking into account the needs of children and adolescents and to promote sustainability and the acquisition of competencies in the same way when linking the catering offer with practical nutrition education.
The goal of the congress is to present the entire breadth of the topic of daycare and school catering on an international level and to shed light on measures for the nutritional security of children. The further development of effective care and catering programs will be the subject of lectures, panel discussions and workshops. The question will be explored as to the different requirements and possibilities with regard to social, ecological, economic and political framework conditions and how these can be implemented in a sustainable manner. On the basis of various approaches in different countries, strategies can be identified that may be transferable to other countries.
The focus of the three-day congress is to promote dialogue between scientists, researchers, policy makers and representatives of non-governmental organizations (NGOs), civil society, the general public and the private sector, as well as other stakeholders and interested parties.
More information, here.