From Crea and Masaf: the platform for food education in schools

Learning to eat well is not just about understanding the principles of nutrition, but above all about developing the ability to make informed choices in everyday life. It is on this basis that Pea, the Food Education Platform, has been launched – a new digital tool developed by Crea in collaboration with Masaf, officially unveiled on World Food Day 2026. The initiative was created to address an educational and health crisis that can no longer be put off.

According to data from OKkio alla Salute, in Italia almost three in ten children aged between 8 and 9 are overweight, more than 25 per cent do not eat fruit or vegetables every day, and over a third eat pulses less than once a week. In the face of a gradual shift away from the principles of the Mediterranean diet, schools remain the ideal setting for translating scientific evidence into healthy habits.

Aimed at teachers in compulsory education, Pea provides teaching programmes tailored to four age groups (from 6 to 16 years old). Each module, structured in accordance with the CREA guidelines and the sustainability principles of the FAO and WHO, offers worksheets, practical classroom activities and homework assignments, emphasising the central role of the family. The topics range from biodiversity to food labelling and waste reduction, weaving together science with history, the environment and citizenship.

A concrete example is the work on seasonality: it starts with colour workshops for the youngest children and progresses to an analysis of the ecological footprint and climate change with older pupils. Designed as a dynamic ecosystem, the platform will enable teachers themselves to interact, proposing new topics and contributing to the project’s ongoing development.