Glandore school to get its own ‘food revolution'

BY JACKIE KEOGH

GLANDORE National School is to be the first school in West Cork to benefit from a new food initiative aimed at promoting balanced and nutritious breakfasts.

The #EggsellentBreakfasts initiative is the brainchild of food writer Kate Ryan of Flavour.ie, Caroline Murphy of West Cork Eggs and Alison Kingston, a nutritional therapist and eating psychologist.

The trio, in conjunction with Taste Cork – a marketing group that represents many of the outstanding food and drink producers in the county – will promote the importance of a healthy, balanced breakfast that is free from sugar.

Kate Ryan told The Southern Star she is hoping the initiative will encourage school children to ditch the sugary cereals, jams and spreads in favour of ‘an Eggsellent Breakfast’, as well as helping to tackle the growing problem of childhood obesity.

Initially, she said they will be reaching out to 40 students in 5th and 6th class at the school in Glandore with a couple of fun and interactive talks and a cooking demonstration of one of five egg-based breakfast recipes. 

Kate said they were inspired by Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution in the UK, which is essentially aimed at educating children about good nutrition, but is broadly relevant because the population in Ireland, both young and old, is becoming increasingly obese.

Kate said they have decided to focus on eggs as the ideal breakfast because eggs provide a huge amount of vitamins and minerals, as well as protein, which helps people to feel fuller for longer.

She said the school in Glandore will be the first school to benefit from the initiative at 11.15am and 12 noon on Wednesday, May 24th next, but they have plans to roll it out to other schools in Co Cork over the next two years. 

If any other school would like to find out more they can contact Kate Ryan on 086 2059360 or email: [email protected].