Parents have been urged to feed their children with slow foods if they wish to see them lead healthy lives.
According to Organic kids for Africa, Biovision Africa Trust, the Lions Club Slow foods and other stakeholders, fast moving foods have proved to be a serious health hazard not only to children but also to the adults.
Slow foods include cassava, sweet potatoes, and traditional vegetable such managu .
During a slow food kid’s festival organised by the Kagio town Lions Club at the Havila Hotel, Sagana, organizers Charles Macharia and Lucy Gachoki said children must be introduced to the traditional foods which are chemical free and contain no harmful elements.
They went on to add that some children were not even aware of the existence of traditional foods and drinks like the bitter gourd which is highly nutritious as compared to the juice they liked so much.
“It is for this reason we have decided to expose these young children from ages seven to 12 to experience traditional foods like cassava, managu and other natural vegetables which do not contain any chemical substances and are highly nutritious for their health, ”Macharia said.
The official said the festival would have attracted a bigger number of children but the prevailing social distancing brought about the corona pandemic had limited the number to just 20.
He said other foods which were on display included honey which was used as a meat preservative, pumpkins, pigeon peas and other cereals.
Ms Gachoki on the other hand said the festival presents an opportunity for the kids to interact freely.
“But due to the prevailing situation caused by the corona pandemic these children were not able to interact freely as they would have wished but there is nothing we would have done since we had to strictly adhere to the prescribed public health protocols ,” she said.
She also said it was the same reason children from other 47 counties were not invited yet it was a national festival but was hopeful the pandemic would soon be contained to have life return to normal.
By Irungu Mwangi
