Princess Marie attends the launch of new teaching materials against food waste

Today, Princess Marie attended a very important event in the fight against food waste in Denmark. Princess Marie has always said that one of the steps of the fight against food waste was to make sure that the children -who are future consumers- learn how to avoid it and this was the focus of today’s event.

Princess Marie, along with Selina Juul, the founder of Stop Spild Af Mad, attended the launch of new teaching materials about food waste at the Amager Fælled school in Copenhagen. These teaching materials are the results of a collaboration between Stop Spild Af Mad and the City of Copenhagen and they can be used in food science education for children in 5th-7th grade

Princess Marie arriving at the school ©TV2Lorry screenshot

Jesper Christensen, the mayor of the Children and Youth Administration, said: “It’s very important that we turn that development so fresh food does not end up in the bin. I am glad that we also teach children about the consequences of food waste in primary school. Children are incredibly curious and knowledgeable and it is our hope that they are equally curious when it comes to food waste and how to reduce the amount of food that ends in the trash can.”

The launch of new teaching materials is part of the City of Copenhagen’s new campaign against food waste called Spis Det Hele (Eat it All) which aims to help people reduce their food waste and become more aware of it. In connection with the new teaching materials, Princess Marie also took part in a short film (which you can see here) introducing the fight against food waste.

The teaching materials are composed of a teacher’s guide and a student’s guide. The aim of these teaching materials is to help the children understand what is food waste, why it is a problem, how they can avoid it and why they should learn good habits regarding food waste and change their families’ habits too.

Here is Princess Marie’s speech:

“Dear everyone,

Thanks to the City of Copenhagen, as with their new teaching material “Food Waste – with you and your family” helps to focus on an important issue.

When you hear the word “food waste”, it may not sound very exciting right?

But every year Danish households throw out about 260,000 tonnes of food. In a family with 2 parents and 2 children, it corresponds to almost every fifth shopping bag ending up directly in the trash bin.It is food that is grown, harvested, processed, packed and transported to simply end in the trash bin. It is a waste of important resources in a world where over 800 million people starve. And that is unnecessary. Because of learning about food waste, we can all make a difference.

When I grew up as a child in France, I learned to cook with my parents. Even simple ingredients could be a party meal and leftovers from the day before were transformed into new delicious dishes. That’s something I’ve taken with me throughout my life – even in the upbringing of my children.

But it is not always easy to avoid food waste in a busy and hectic everyday life. I know that too.

Although studies show that most people want to work to fight food waste, many adults are already having a lot of bad habits and are going to throw out food without even thinking about it!

You are our future and it is you who can make a big difference to stop food waste. By learning about food waste and sharing your knowledge with your parents, you can help change the whole family’s habits and thus protect our planet and your future!

I am looking forward to seeing you dive into the teaching material and see you become more aware of how you can become part of the solution. “

Princess Marie is the Patron of the Copenhagen Cooking & Food Festival which focuses on food waste this year and she has been working closely with Stop Spild Af Mad for a few years now so I expect her to attend more events related to Denmark’s fight against food waste this year.

You can see a short video of the event here.

Princess Marie wore a new LK Bennett trench coat today. The ‘Boston’ coat is “the perfect colorful cover-up this season and for many more to come. Double-breasted with a waist-cinching belt and collar cuffs, this gorgeous trench is an enduring classic that will brighten up any outfit. “

She also wore a new Tara Jarmon knit top with a new Michael Kors plaid and leopard chiffon skirt. The skirt is currently on sale at $36.75! Check it out here!