Thanks to the ‘Olympic Breakfast’ project, more than a thousand students from the autonomous community of the Canary Islands nutritional benefits of gofioan authentic Canarian dish.
The President of the Canary Islands, Fernando Clavijo, and the Minister of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries and Food Sovereignty, Narvay Quintero, visited the Princesa Tejina Early Childhood and Primary Education Center (CEIP) in Tenerife this Wednesday, to learn first-hand about the development of the initiative ‘The gofio, olympic breakfast‘, which has already reached a thousand Canarian students through the government company GMR Canarias.
This project, whose exceptional ambassador is the former Olympic athlete Mario Pestano, seeks to promote the properties of this indigenous ‘superfood’, while at the same time supports the agri-food sector and habits of healthy life.
The action, which is part of the ‘Grow Together’ strategy of the Government of the Canary Islands, is carried out in a dozen educational centers in Tenerife and Gran Canaria, through informative lectures and sports demonstrations by the athlete in which the students and physical education teachers participate.
Next to ‘The gofie, Olympic Breakfast’, the alliance promoted by the executive authority of the Canary Islands between the primary sector and the educational field, is materialized in two other major projects: the Canary Islands Eco-eaters Program and the School Plan for the Consumption of Fruits and Vegetables . Both promote the consumption of local, fresh and seasonal products among students, thus promoting local production on the islands and healthy eating.
During his speech, President Fernando Clavijo emphasized that “The Canary Islands have developed a model that can be followed for other autonomous communities, which combines the promotion of the consumption of zero-mileage products with the promotion of healthy habits among the little ones, which will benefit our benefits local producers. .” and for the entire educational community and encouraging a sustainable development that gives priority to our rural areas”.
The head of the autonomous government announced that the ‘El gofie, olympic breakfast It will be expanded to other education centers next yeara decision of the Ministry of Agriculture in view of the success of the pilot programme.
In statements to the media, counsel Narvay Quintero recalled that the gofie, “Besides being a traditional product with many advantages, which is part of the Canarian identity, it is a differentiated quality production made under the Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) badge.‘ and explained that due to the good results, this initiative, which started as a pilot project, will be expanded to other centers on the non-capital islands, giving priority to the education centers located close to factories. gofio
Gofio as a superfood
He gofio It is a superfood that has numerous properties a high nutritional valuewith several vitamins, minerals and unsaturated fatty acids and amino acids. Thus, it offers people who practice sports medium and slow assimilation of carbohydrates, soluble and insoluble fiber, vitamins B, A and D, minerals such as calcium, magnesium, potassium, sodium, phosphorus, iron and zinc, 6 fatty acids and various amino acids. .
At this moment, There are 37 active gofio mills distributed in Tenerife, Gran Canaria, La Palma, La Gomera, El Hierro, Fuerteventura and Lanzarote. The total annual production is 6,745 tons, of which approximately 5,000 tons are destined for the Canary market and 1,707 tons are exported. By type: 58% of gofio produced in the Canary Islands is millet. This is followed in order of importance by wheat 20%, grain mixture 16% and grain and legume mixture 4%.
Gran Canaria is the island where it is produced gofio with 52% of the total volume of the archipelago. Together with Tenerife, they represent 31% of the volume 83% of the Canary Islands’ production. It is worth highlighting the production on La Palma and La Gomera with 13% and 4% respectively. The production of the other three islands, El Hierro, Fuerteventura and Lanzarote, amounts to less than 1% of the total.
Gofio on school menus
The Canary Islands Ecocomedores program emerged in 2013 as a ground-breaking initiative. In just over ten years it has established itself as a national reference by offering school menus prepared with organic, fresh and seasonal products. This cooperation program not only promotes local consumption, but also promotes the agricultural sector by promoting agriculture ecological livestock farming, and promotes sustainable rural development.
The success of ‘Ecocomedores’ has been such that it has inspired other autonomous communities, such as the Basque Country, Navarre and Valencia, to adopt similar models. It currently benefits more than 23,000 guests and is structured around a regional network consisting of 105 eco-farmers and 172 participating entities, of which 168 are educational centers.
The ‘School Plan for the Consumption of Fruit and Vegetables’, funded by the European Union, in turn seeks to promote habits healthy eating among schoolchildren of the Canary Islands through the distribution of fresh fruit and vegetables among students. For example, during the 2024-2025 academic year, 223,341 kg of these productions will be distributed among 67,794 students from 348 schools.
The action, which also contributes to the fight against childhood obesity, one of the main concerns from a health point of view in relation to the child and youth population, includes various educational activities to raise awareness among boys and girls the importance of a balanced diet Of these products, physical activity and responsible food consumption, which take place inside and outside schools.
The alliance promoted by the government between the primary sector and the educational field has materialized in two other major initiatives: ‘Eco-eaters of the Canary Islands’ and the ‘School plan for the consumption of fruit and vegetables’, which were successfully implemented.