Belize City Students Trained as Nutrition Youth Advocates in Healthy Schools Program

The Ministry of Health & Wellness and the Ministry of Education, Science & Technology have completed a two-day training program for a new group of “Nutrition Youth Advocates.” The initiative, which is part of the government’s “Healthy Habits, Healthy Schools, Healthy Belize” program launched in 2023, saw 14 students from eight Belize City high schools receive training to promote healthier habits among their peers. The program aims to reduce the consumption of sugary drinks and unhealthy foods in schools.  The two-day training, held last Thursday and Friday, provided students with knowledge on a range of health topics beyond just nutrition. The curriculum included sessions on mental health, health promotion, substance abuse, and leadership skills. This comprehensive approach is designed to equip the young advocates with the tools they need to be effective peer leaders and role models in their schools. Cathleen Juan, National Project Coordinator, for the Belize Resilient School Feeding program explained that the goal is for the cooks to prepare health meals.

Cathleen Juan, National Project Coordinator: “We really want to get healthy meals. It’s not just providing a meal, but it’s providing a healthy meal.  And really the key to that is making sure that our cooks are comfortable with making healthy meals. They need to because they’re the ones at the end of the day who are there giving our students the meals. They’re doing the hard work every single day.  This year with our training, we’re focusing on increasing local kind of underutilized items. So our chayas, our calaloo, our sweet potatoes, our pumpkin. How can we use those better and get them onto our menus and into our children in the feeding program and so we thought what better way to do it than to bring Chef Kuylen and have the cooks learn directly from one of the best chefs in the country.”

 Government officials have stated that there are plans to expand the Nutrition Youth Advocates program to schools in other districts. This expansion would broaden the reach of the initiative, working toward a nationwide movement for improved health and wellness in Belizean schools.