About 30 schools nationwide have incorporated Taiwan-grown millet into school lunches to promote diet diversity and indigenous culture, the Agriculture and Food Agency said on Thursday.
Agency Deputy Director Huang Chao-hsing (黃昭興) said the Ministry of Agriculture collaborated with the Council of Indigenous Peoples to promote millet and revitalize the value of the important cash crop.
The program has been implemented in about 30 schools across Taipei, New Taipei City, Keelung, Taoyuan, Hsinchu, Tainan, Kaohsiung, and Pingtung and Hualien counties.
Photo: CNA
Given aggravated extreme weather, millet is an ideal crop that can add diversity to school lunches aside from rice, Huang said.
Council Deputy Minister Adralriw Abaliusu said millet is not only a healthy food, but also has cultural significance.
“Millet is a means for most indigenous people to connect and communicate with their ancestral spirits,” he said.
New Taipei City Indigenous Peoples Department Director Siku Yaway said that Zhangshu Elementary School in New Taipei City’s Sijhih District (汐止) was chosen to start the program, as it is an urban school with students of various indigenous backgrounds.
“It [the program] is important, as children would have more confidence and understanding of their own culture when they see their indigenous lifestyle and fellow people are incorporated into daily life,” she said.
Millet is good for digestive health, as the food is rich in nutrients such as dietary fiber, protein, iron, magnesium and vitamin B, the agency said.
It can help prevent students from consuming too much refined starches, and teach them about healthy diets and the spirit of cherishing locally grown crops, it said.
Millet dishes served in schools include chicken broth noodles with millet, millet curry with meat sauce, baked vegetables with millet, and corn soup with millet, the agency said.
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