Roda JC let children score with fruits and vegetables every day

Roda JC let children score with fruits and vegetables every day

As part of the social programme ‘Healthy in My Region’, Roda JC and National Programme Heerlen-Noord (NPHLN) kicked off ‘Vegetables & Fruit in My Region’ this week. Under the banner of ‘Scoring every day with fruit and vegetables’, ten primary schools in the Parkstad region are now provided with free healthy food every day, with help from partners Juyst, CZ and Rabobank.

Present at the launch at primary school De Vlieger were Roda JC players Dylan Vente, Sami Ouaissa, Arjen van der Heide and Lennerd Daneels. The players distributed fruit to the children and,of course, there were plenty of games in the schoolyard. There was also ample time to take photos with the players, which some of the children’s parents took advantage of.

“We are proud to be part of this great Roda JC project. You can see that the children love meeting the players in the schoolyard and playing games with them. We have a healthy breakfast for the pupils here every morning and we now also serve fruit and vegetables several times a day.”

Rutger van Dinther, a Deputy director of De Vlieger

Roda JC vitality manager Ard van Peppen and director of NPHLN Ron Meyer also look back on the afternoon with satisfaction.

“With Roda JC, we have the ambition to improve the health of the region. To that end, healthy food is vital. As Roda JC, we want to and can convey to young people that eating fruits and vegetables is important for performance, to ‘score’. Not only on a sporting level, but good nutrition also helps to concentrate at school.”

Ard van Peppe, Roda JC vitality manager

“Our national programme has health as an important pillar. We have some catching up to do in that area and, for this, we start with the youth. With the strength of Roda JC, the most beautiful club there is, we can really make a difference.”

Ron Meyer, NPHLN director

Less than one in 20 children in the Parkstad region eats enough fruits and vegetables every day. Moreover, some children even come to school without breakfast. This must change to improve the life chances of these and future generations. Roda JC and Nationaal Programma Heerlen Noord have joined forces to contribute to this. Part of the programme includes active challenges and fun teaching materials on healthy eating. All this to ensure that children make healthy choices outside school too. The launch of ‘Fruits & Vegetables in My Region’ is Roda JC’s contribution to EFDN’s Morethanfootball Action Weeks.