Maintaining Nutrition for Children and Families by Processing Food Properly
The atmosphere of the entrance to the pilgrimage site for the Statue of Mother Mario, Wuliwutik Village looked unusual. Several mothers were busy listening to dissemination from Puskesmas Nita officers. They attended the Food Processing Training held by Wahana Visi Indonesia (WVI) Sikka Area Program in collaboration with the Maumere Diocese Puspas.
The Covid-19 pandemic is not a barrier for mothers to continue to refresh their insights on how to process healthy food for their children and families. Participants are invited to directly cook a food menu that is following the child's nutrition.
"Processing food appropriately for children is also one way to maintain children's nutrition and prevent stunting," said Maria Adelfina, TPG from Puskesmas Nita to the training participants.
The menus that they practiced that afternoon were brown rice, green bean moringa, seasoned eggs, and fish tofu cakes. Cooking is not just processing raw food ingredients into ready-to-eat food. Cooking is the process of processing nutritious food and bringing nutrition to children and families.
Similar activities did not only occur in Wuliwutik Village but were also carried out in 5 other areas in 5 different parishes. The Food Processing Training received positive responses from the participants who attended it. Approximately 80 women attended this training.
"I feel very happy and satisfied with this activity. The facilitator taught us to process healthy food for the family to increase the family's nutritional intake,” said Ignasia Helence, a mother who was one of the participants from the Nita Parish who participated in this activity.
This training is also the first way to introduce to the community, especially mothers, to better understand the importance of a variety of nutritious foods for children. Parents' consistency in implementing this at home will be another support to keep children healthy and well-nourished.
Written by: Herning Tyas Eucharist, Staff of Sikka Area Program Wahana Visi Indonesia
