This document discusses education initiatives in Italy focused on food and agriculture. It describes learning units developed by different schools focusing on topics like preventing food waste, discovering local food chains, and understanding food labels and agro-biodiversity. Example learning units included primary school students meeting with a food bank and brainstorming food waste, and visiting local farms and markets, while a junior secondary school project involved interdisciplinary work on local and global agriculture through activities like visiting a bread production chain and analyzing food labels. The document notes challenges of improving cooperation among students and teachers and engaging more classes and teachers from different subjects.

1. EAThink 2015 in Italy,
Lombardia
Chiara Capello, Tommaso Grossi Primary School
Giulia Marconi, Molino Vecchio Junior Secondary
School
Donatella Radrizzani, Varalli Turistic High School

2. Topics and priorities
• Preventing food waste
• Discovering the local food chain
• Linking producers and young
consumers also in a big city
• Analysing food labels
information
• Understanding
the importance of
agro-biodiversity

3. Learning Unit example for
Primary school: food waste
• Meeting with not for profit
organization, Banco Alimentare,
providing food for the poor
through food saved from waste
• Brainstorming on food waste at
home and school canteen,
collection of recipes with leftovers
• Output: interactive presentation

4. Learning Unit example for
Primary school: local food
• Lessons on seasonal food and zero
chilometers products
• Visit to local farmers market (Cascina
Cuccagna)
• Visit to a urban farm (Cascina
Campazzo) led by peer educators of
Varalli Turistic High School

5. Learning Unit example for
Junior Secondary school:
Local and Global agriculture
• 4 class involved
• 70 boys and girls (11-12 years old)
• 40 hours for class
• Interdisciplinary work: Italian,
Science, English, Geography,
Tecnology. Gym
• Final output: pdf presentation,
photo reportage

6. Learning Unit example for
Junior Secondary school:
Local and Global agriculture
• Food labels reading
• Meeting with «Spiga e Madia»
project, a local bread production
and distribution chain damaged by
the building of a new highway
• Worshop at the Coop supermerket
on critical consumption and
marketing
• «Healthy snacks week» at school
• Expo visit

8. Challenges
• Improve cooperation and respect
among school-mates
• How can we evaluate the projects?
• How can we involve new teachers?
1) Engaging more classes
2) Teachers of different subjects with
different skills
 Create a positive emotional climate in
the school and between teachers
 Planning
 Collaboration with families