The caravan that teaches children about healthy eating will arrive in the western part of the country this summer as part of the Akademia Kinderland program, organized by Kaufland Romania and the PLAN B Association for Social Responsibility for the sixth consecutive year.

The first stop of the mobile school that teaches children how to eat healthily will take place in Târgu Jiu, in the Kaufland parking lot (2A Termocentralei Street), where it will stay for 7 days starting from July 17th. Next are Hațeg, Arad, Timișoara, Reșița.

Entry is free and is allowed between 10:00 AM and 6:00 PM, in groups of up to 5 people. Children aged 5 to 14 can participate in the activities of Akademia Kinderland.

Outdoor school-museum: interactive education for proper nutrition

Props, fruits, and vegetables in the form of giant exhibits, exploration stations, tablet games, information and curiosities about all categories of food – all of these will be available at the Caravan, where children will learn about proper nutrition through non-formal and interactive methods.

"Sugar Detective," "Ideal Plate," "Super Hero K," "Kinder Bike" are some of the games that children will discover, along with many informative modules such as "Food Pyramid," "Pay Attention to What You Drink," or "Digestive Tubes."

Children will be guided by staff through attractively decorated stations, where they will learn what an ideal plate looks like, how the human body functions in relation to food, how to properly combine foods, what a healthy snack means, and how to avoid food waste – all explained in a way that children can understand.

Experts emphasize the importance of proper nutrition from a young age

The program carried out by Kaufland Romania and the Plan B Association supports parents in their efforts to help children develop healthy habits that have a long-term impact on health and harmonious development.

"For over 5 years, the Akademia Kinderland caravan has been traveling the country far and wide to teach children the principles of healthy eating. With plenty of games and information, children have an extremely fun and educational experience, because a single visit empowers them to make correct choices regarding their diet.

Therefore, we invite the little ones to the Kaufland store parking lots for a useful and enjoyable activity suitable for the vacation," said Katharina Scheidereiter, CSR Manager at Kaufland Romania.

65% of children aged up to 14 consume sweets daily, while 43% consume carbonated drinks once a week or more often, according to the national survey on children's eating behavior conducted recently by Kaufland and Plan B.

At the same time, 3 out of 10 parents state in the same research that their children do not eat fresh fruits daily or almost daily.

At the European level, the most recent study[1] on childhood obesity shows that in Romania, 7% of children never have breakfast, and one in 4 children aged 8 is overweight, with one in 10 suffering from obesity.

The need to develop healthy eating behaviors includes, in addition to proper nutrition, avoiding food waste. The same study shows that in Romania, food waste amounts to 6,000 tons per day, and 49% of it occurs in households.

AKADEMIA KINDERLAND, also available as a mobile app

Children can find the games from Akademia Kinderland in a virtual format as well, in the form of an app that can be downloaded for free on tablets and smartphones from the AppStore and Google Play. Moreover, children can also play on laptops or desktops by accessing www.akademiakinderland.ro.

Since 2018, Akademia Kinderland has been providing nutritional education to children across the country. The healthy eating games caravan has reached 23 cities, where over 60,000 children have benefited from information that has helped them build proper eating habits.

§ Timișoara: August 13th – August 19th, Kaufland Timișoara Vidrighin (Chimiștilor Street, no. 5-9)

§ Reșița: August 22nd – August 28th, Kaufland Reșița (Revoluției din Decembrie Boulevard, no. 1)