The International Day of Education, celebrated every year on on January 24th, recognises the transformative power of education to build sustainable societies – a reminder that learning is a lifelong journey.
Perhaps you might find it surprising when we state that it is also a time to celebrate a humble yet mighty ally for learning and development: beans.
Beans are nutritional powerhouses, packed with protein, fiber, vitamins, and minerals. They provide a slow-burning source of energy that fuels both the body and the brain, enhancing focus, stamina, and learning capacity. Knowledge about nutrition is also key to unlocking healthier lifestyles.
By embracing lifelong learning about nutrition, such as with the benefits of foods like beans, we can improve our diets, optimize our health, and empower others to do the same. By incorporating beans into our diets and sharing their benefits with others, we can create ripple effects for better health and improved learning potential within our communities.
Around the world, members of the Beans is How Coalition are harnessing the power of beans to improve education outcomes, promote better nutrition, and create a healthier future. We invite you to explore some of the incredible efforts of our partners across the world!
Healthy Kids, Happy Planet! Is an eco-focused nutrition education organization, with a mission to teach youth about the life-changing, planet saving power of beans for protein!
The California-based organization has developed a multicultural elementary nutrition curriculum, Cool Beans from Around the World, with each of the 9 lessons celebrating a bean from different cultural cuisines.
The lessons include hands-on culinary projects to allow students the opportunity to taste a variety of beans in a positive learning environment, and the organization is giving grants to teachers to pay for recipe ingredients. Along with big, bold bean-themed cafeteria posters, plus a series of upbeat nutrition themed “commercials” for cafeteria screens, Healthy Kids, Happy Planets’ resources can link classroom education to the school cafeteria learning lab, and in this way, aims to support school cafeterias in serving more bean-based dishes.
Educating youth in their formative years is key for social change. Healthy Kids, Happy Planet! is excited to share their resources with educators and school nutrition professionals, all available online and at no cost on their website. Please help spread the word!
Website: healthykidshappyplanet.org
Insta handle: @healthykidshappyplanet
Budget-Friendly and Healthy: The Role of Beans in Ghana’s School Meal Programs
Amidst rising food prices in Ghana, including food inflation at 27.9%, and dietary concerns such as high sugar intake, incorporating beans into school meals offers a powerful long-term solution. Beans remain affordable across all socioeconomic levels. Importantly, they help regulate blood sugar levels—a key benefit given Ghana’s newly introduced sugar tax.
Challenges include ensuring consistent bean preparation that appeals to children and youth. With support from UMI FUND, SchoolFood4Future collaborates with market women and school cafeterias to increase bean consumption among students and staff. We partner with youth creatives to produce engaging local videos that resonate with children and youth, promoting bean consumption in a fun and relatable way. This has proven highly successful in 2024.
Given that most consumers tend to be cost-sensitive, beans being cost-effective and a culturally relevant way to nourish Ghana’s children really stands out.
Amid rising expenses, the simple bean delivers abundant nutrition, showing that maintaining good health doesn’t have to break the bank!
Wellness in the Schools in New York City: bringing delicious and diverse bean recipes to public school cafeterias.
WITS is inspiring students to embrace plant-based eating. Students participate in taste tests through the Chefs in the Schools program, giving feedback on recipes and helping shape their lunch menus.
One of the standout dishes being sampled this year is Egyptian Chickpeas, inspired by Koshari Stew. This school-friendly adaptation combines garbanzo beans, pinto beans, onions, tomatoes, bell peppers, and fragrant spices like cinnamon, cumin, and curry.
This initiative, led by WITS Chefs and NYC Public Schools, highlights how beans can make school meals both nutritious and exciting. It’s a delicious example of how beans connect culture, sustainability, and education.
Chef and Food Educator James Taylor, has been using a wide variety of beans, peas and lentils in his school meals!
Training kitchen staff in primary schools across London, Chef James aims to familiarise children with the taste and expose them to the benefits of these healthy foods.
Says Chef James: “For the last 2 years, I’ve been really proactive in getting the children more familiar with pulses in my primary schools. I’ve tested various dishes to find out which are most popular, featured pulses in my menus at least twice a week, taught lessons in classrooms with peas & beans and even started art projects using dried pulses.
I’ve done all this to familiarise the children with this really important food group, in the hope that by 2028 everyone in school will be excited to eat them. I believe they are an amazing, lean, plant based source of protein. They are very filling so will keep the children full for longer compared to a bowl of white pasta, which is very important for their concentration in class.
They are also good for my budget as they are a cheap protein source, especially compared to meat or fish. Pulses are good for the people and good for the planet.”
This International Day of Education, he shares a crowd favourite for primary schools – Lasagna with green olive lentils and split flamingo peas from Hodmedod’s.
Watch here!
On this International Day of Education, let’s remember the vital role food plays in learning and development.
From nutrition education to affordable school meal programs, beans are helping learners around the world thrive in their educational journeys.
Together, we can make beans the cornerstone of healthy, sustainable eating for generations to come.
