Vegemi Food Education Method

Vegemi Food Education Method: Vegemi takes children on an exciting learning journey with the superpowers of vegetables

Early childhood is a wonderful time: children are constantly learning new skills, and their interest in socialising, their own bodies, and the environment grows. Early childhood plus Key Stage 1 is a time for wonder and play. Everything is possible, and the world is a marvellous place! Our bodies included – where a tiny stomach bacteria, Vegemi, lives with his friends!

That’s precisely why Vegemi loves to be with children, learning meaningful things together, giving children the opportunity to impact their own wellbeing and environment. Through Vegemi children also learn long-term skills: by eating well and making healthy lifestyle choices, they can also take care of their microbiome! According to current research, this is one of the most important ways to promote our health and wellbeing, as aside from genetic factors, our eating habits and lifestyle choices directly affect how diverse our microbiome is, which largely determines our health experience. So, it’s strange that children are rarely spoken to about the health of their microbiome. But thankfully, Vegemi is here and supporting as many children as possible!

Vegemi encourages children to influence

Vegemi believes in experiential learning, learning together and from each other, and empowering children in their role as influencers! Vegemi encourages children to influence not only their peer groups but also their parents and grandparents – when a child becomes enthusiastic about vegetables, they’ll surely be eaten more. Food choices are indeed children’s opportunities to impact not only wellbeing but also the environment!

Early Years plus Key Stage 1 plays a crucial role in supporting children’s eating habits and nutrition knowledge. Increasing vegetable consumption within the preschool age group is a meaningful focus for sustainable development education due to its effectiveness. However, challenges in implementing food education often include a lack of information, materials, and time resources.

For these reasons, Vegemi inspired the collaborative development of the Vegemi Food Education Method with the Early Childhood Education of the City of Espoo in Finland using the “Make with Espoo” model. The Vegemi method now meets the needs of Early Years education plus Key Stage 1 with a visual learning package and materials: Vegemi instantly transforms educators into inspiring food educators!

Age-appropriate information and fun that make children fall in love with vegetables and of course, Vegemi!

The innovative Vegemi Method food and health education, focusing on microbiome diversity and the health benefits of vegetables while encouraging self-direction, is a visual and multisensory, narrative-based package ready to be taken directly into learning environments.

The method delivers age-appropriate information through humour, games, and learning tasks, incorporating fresh vegetables and digital technology through the Vegemi app. The topics combine nutrition, health, and sustainable development education. Vegemi, as a character, is playful and adventurous, wanting to take care of itself, its friends, and the environment – who could be a more inspiring superhero to bring the joy of fruits and vegetables to early childhood education!

Based on nutrition science and sensory food education, the Vegemi learning method is based on the new Nordic nutrition recommendations. It also aligns with the Finnish early childhood education curriculum, which fosters children’s multidisciplinary skills and social learning. In the Vegemi method, thinking, learning, participation, and interactive skills are strengthened. Additionally, self-care, empowerment, and everyday life skills are emphasised, laying the foundation for digital literacy. And, of course, fostering children’s positive, sustainable relationship with food!

Vegemi inspires both children and educators!

Vegemi has received excellent feedback from educators for its ease of use, effectiveness, and inspiring nature. Children love Vegemi, and 100% of early childhood educators who have used the Vegemi method recommend it. According to early childhood educators, Vegemi’s world inspires children, and the material brings a new perspective to food education. The method is impactful: collaborative development in Espoo’s early childhood education lasted about three months, and the results showed that 100% of educators reported increased children’s interest in vegetables and awareness of their health benefits. 86% of educators said Vegemi increased children’s willingness to try different vegetables. Vegemi’s usage is expanding In Finland, where Vegemi was born, the Vegemi food education method is already being used in several of Finland’s largest city early childhood education programs.

In the UK, Vegemi is already part of government HAF programs. Additionally, we are in discussions for collaboration with several municipalities in the UK. The Vegemi method is also of interest internationally: we are planning collaboration with many international actors. Hopefully, we can share more about this with you soon!

In addition to early childhood education and Key Stage 1, the Vegemi method is suitable for other age groups as well; we offer workshops for children of different ages. Our goal is to make Vegemi accessible to as many children as possible. Vegemi is made for children, and the more children encounter Vegemi and are thus encouraged to eat vegetables, the happier we and Vegemi are!

Emilia Järvinen – Vegemi co-founder