Workshop with Children in Akita: Rethinking Traditional and Local Foods

The Fresh Association, a women's association of Japan Agricultural Co-operatives Akita, organized a workshop on food in Akita City on December 6, 2003. As female farmers having concerns about the future of children, the association members called on primary school children and their mothers to think about food issues. About 100 people participated in the workshop.

The workshop started with a lecture entitled, "Family Health Comes from Every Meal," by Kumi Imaizumi, a cooking expert. She emphasized to the mothers the importance of being conscious about eating healthy food. As a program for children, members of the association held a picture story show using their own illustrations. The story was about a soup of "kiritanpo," Akita's traditional soup made with mashed rice, chicken and vegetables, addressing significant food issues such as the consumption of locally-produced food.

The children then cooked kiritanpo. Following the instruction of another cooking expert, they mashed steamed rice, locally grown Akita-Komachi, in paste, put it on a chopstick, and cooked it. After their hard work, they savored the "kiritanpo nabe" dishes that they had prepared with their own hands.

One of the participating children said that when buying food she would check food labels to help decide what to buy, proof that this workshop gave the children a good chance to learn about food issues and local agriculture.



Posted: 2004/04/05 09:55:15 PM
Japanese version