How do you get young people to think about food? Make a game of it
How do you get school children to take a greater interest in what they eat? You gamify it.
That was the simple but effective plan behind Food Fight, a card game invented by Cashmere High School students that has sold almost 600 packs and taken them to the finals of the Young Enterprise Scheme (YES) national awards.
The Christchurch school dominated the Canterbury Ōtākaro South category, taking all five spots in the regional final.
More than 4000 students from 200 New Zealand schools entered this year’s competition, which involves young people pitching their business ideas.
The national final will take place on December 15, with the winner taking home a share of $23,000 in prizemoney.
Students will pitch their business ideas to a panel of expert judges, including Burcu Senel, chief executive of HSBC New Zealand, and Brooke Roberts, chief executive of Sharesies. The event will be held online due to uncertainty around Covid-19 restrictions.
Christchurch students Oakley Inkersell, Aljaz Smrekar, Jack Carran and Rosa Kelly came up with the Food Fight game to encourage children to think about what they eat.
Similar to Top Trumps or Weet-Bix Stat Attack, the 52 cards include information on food items, such as the price, calories, sugar and fat content. It also has the name of the foods in te reo Māori.
Read more here.