Japan’s health ministry mulls dietary education at kodomo shokudo cafeterias

Japón/Diciembre de 2016/Fuente: The Japan Times

RESUMEN: El Ministerio de Agricultura, Silvicultura y Pesca está considerando promover la educación dietética en kodomo shokudo, o cafeterías infantiles, que son dirigidas por organizaciones sin fines de lucro o residentes del vecindario para dar a los niños oportunidades de cenar con la compañía. Para implementar la iniciativa, el ministerio trabajará con el comité gobernante del Partido Demócrata Liberal sobre educación dietética, que comenzará a entrevistar a operadores de tales cafeterías a principios del próximo año, dijeron fuentes. Kodomo shokudo, que se han extendido a muchas partes de Japón, por lo general ofrecen 20 a 30 comidas por noche con la comida proporcionada por los residentes locales y los fabricantes de alimentos.

The Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Ministry is considering promoting dietary education at kodomo shokudo, or children’s cafeterias, which are run by nonprofit organizations or neighborhood residents to give children opportunities to dine with company.

To implement the initiative, the ministry will work with the ruling Liberal Democratic Party’s committee on dietary education, which is set to start interviewing operators of such cafeterias early next year, sources said.

Kodomo shokudo, which have spread to many parts of Japan, typically offer 20 to 30 meals per evening using food provided by local residents and food manufacturers.

Some of them open once or twice a week and others once or twice a month. The meal is offered for several hundred yen at the highest and for free in many cases.

In addition to helping children of double-income households and single-parent families avoid having dinner alone, the cafeterias are also supporting children in poverty by providing them with balanced meals.

Under its basic program for promoting dietary education for five years from fiscal 2016, the government set a goal of pushing forward dietary education that corresponds to diversified lifestyles.

As a specific measure for achieving this goal, the agriculture ministry hopes to utilize kodomo shokudo as a setting for children to learn about food in general, such as ways to get proper nutrition, cooking methods and local cuisine, the sources said.

The ministry also believes such cafeterias can help children improve their communication skills as they have conversations with local people over dinner, they said.

The LDP committee plans to interview kodomo shokudo operators about how they procure food and encourage children in need to come to their cafeterias. Through the interviews, the ministry aims to figure out what roles the central and local governments should play in supporting children.

“We’re hoping to help kodomo shokudo become places of learning for children,” a ministry official said.

Fuente: http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2016/12/13/national/social-issues/japans-health-ministry-mulls-dietary-education-kodomo-shokudo-cafeterias/#.WFaRbblGT_s