Nestlé

CREATING SHARED VALUE

• NUTRITION
• RURAL DEVELOPMENT
• EDUCATION AND SKILLS TRAINING
• ENVIRONMENT AND WATER

NUTRITION

• Nutrition Education in Schools

Nestlé Jamaica targets Home Economics students in secondary schools who have the potential to become teachers or practitioners in the food industry. The program involves visits to the schools to give nutrition lectures and cooking demonstrations focusing on the preparation of balanced meals. The topics used in the lectures are taken from the school’s curriculum and Nestlé products are utilised in the cooking demonstrations. We target 12 High Schools each year with a visit frequency of twice per year. The relationship with the students and teachers is maintained outside of the visits as they become members of Club Nestlé where they continue to receive literature and nutritional information. They also consult with Nestle when gathering information for school projects.

• World School Milk Day

Each year, to commemorate, World School Milk Day Nestlé Jamaica Limited in collaboration with the Ministry of Education, visit schools located in poor communities. Because of their limited spending power, information on how to prepare nutritious meals is particularly important for persons in these communities. World School Milk Day offers us an excellent opportunity to share with them the benefits of including milk as a part of a healthy diet.   

Each year over one thousand students participate in the day’s activity which includes:

• Sampling of Full Cream
• A presentation on the benefits of drinking milk
• A demonstration by the Quality Assurance department which features “From the Farm to the Consumer.”
• Presentation on the history of Nestle and the nutritious products provided for our consumers.
• Recipe demonstrations
• A milk game designed to engage the children in a fun and exciting way
• The students make several dramatic presentations about milk

Following the presentations, the students are quizzed on what they learnt, and receive prizes for the correct answers. 

• School Breakfast Programme

Recognizing the importance of nutrition to the child’s growth and development and its impact on learning, Nestlé Jamaica became involved in a school breakfast programme. For a large number of disadvantaged children, an adequate breakfast is not readily available and many children attend school without consuming a proper breakfast or in many cases with no breakfast at all.  We therefore, supply on a monthly basis, products such as Milo, Supligen, milks and soups to a range of schools, children’s homes and other charitable institutions.

• Wellness Caravan - Rural Communities & Health Fairs

Nutrition education for consumers is done through the following initiatives:

Nestlé Wellness Caravan Activities at Health Fairs and communities visits. Nestlé sponsors the cost of basic health checks such as blood pressure, blood cholesterol and blood sugar checks. We also use our personnel to conduct Body Mass Index checks and body fat checks.  We also deliver nutrition lectures to consumers advising them of the Six Food Groups and the benefits of a balanced diet and also provide guidance as to the other aspects of a healthy lifestyle (physical activity etc.). 

Association with NGOs -We collaborate with and support the activities of the:

• Heart Foundation of Jamaica (HFJ) which holds regular clinics at their head quarters in Kingston and also operate a mobile clinic which travels to government health centre in poor communities. The foundation also conducts testing in various supermarket locations and participates in a wide range of health fairs.  Persons who access the testing are given nutrition counselling by the Heart Foundation representatives. Nestle provides support to these activities to by sponsoring cholesterol checks in the clinics and at some health fairs. We also provide literature on various health related issues.  

• The Jamaica Red Cross donates food products and other necessary items to persons displaced or otherwise affected by natural disasters.  Nestlé supports the JRC by donating products such as Milo, Supligen, soups and milk which can be used to assist these persons. The Jamaica Red Cross also hosts health fairs and seminars throughout the year which Nestlé also supports.

The Environmental Health Foundation through its partnership with the health care provider, Sagicor hosts an annual health seminar for the Schools Wellness Club program. These clubs operate through the Nutrition department of primary and secondary schools. The aim of these is to increase the awareness of the importance of nutrition and influence the practices of the school community. The clubs meet on a monthly basis. Nestle supports the Foundation by giving nutrition lectures to the club members and providing literature and sampling Nestle products such as Milo and Supligen.