UIP-5: Do you know how to read ingredients lists on packaged food?

1. Problem Statement ⚡

Today’s generation, including our students, is growing up surrounded by convenience foods- packaged snacks, sugary drinks, instant noodles, sauces, and ready-to-eat meals. These items may look colorful, taste delicious, and promise energy and nutrition, but in reality, they hide harmful ingredients such as excessive salt, sugar, unhealthy oils, and preservatives.

For children and families in our communities, these dietary practices have slowly become the norm. Regular consumption of packaged food is leading to issues like obesity, diabetes, weak immunity, and even heart problems, impacting not only physical health but also concentration, academic performance, and overall well-being.

There is an urgent need to make young people aware of what lies behind the attractive packaging, to question the advertisements that glorify junk food and to encourage a return to natural, home-cooked meals that truly nourish both body and mind.

2. Project Description 🎭

To tackle this growing concern, the students of Grade 9 HSP undertook a Unit Integrated Project titled “Say No to Packaged Food – Stay Healthy”. With this initiative, they aimed to understand how packaged and processed foods affect our health and to promote mindful eating within their school and community.

In their science classes, students had studied topics such as nutrition, food adulteration, and the effects of preservatives. Through this project, with the central theme of healthy dietary practices, they stepped beyond theory into real-world exploration, analysing how food choices influence health and identifying practical ways to create positive change.

✨ Activities included:

• Show & Tell: Students brought various dry and wet packaged foods, read their ingredient labels, and discussed what each component meant.

• Comparison: Healthy homemade alternatives such as poha, sprouts, and fruit snacks were displayed beside packaged chips, biscuits, and drinks.

• Label Reading Workshop: Students learned how to read nutritional information, expiry dates, and understand misleading claims.

• Survey: They conducted a school and community survey to understand how often people consumed packaged food and why.

• Creative Skit: They performed an interactive skit titled “What’s Really Inside Packaged Food?” highlighting how advertisements mislead consumers and how packaged snacks harm health and the environment.

• Reflection and Pledge: The project concluded with a group pledge to choose homemade meals over packaged ones.

3. Project Goals / Objectives 🎯

This UIP was designed not just as an academic exercise but as a transformative experience that connects classroom learning with real-life responsibility.

Objectives:

🥦 Awareness: Make students aware of the harmful effects of both dry and wet packaged foods.

🍲 Promotion of Fresh Food: Encourage consumption of fresh, homemade, and balanced meals.

🔍 Informed Choices: Teach students to read food labels carefully before buying.

🚫 Reduce Packaged Food Intake: Motivate students and families to consciously reduce dependence on processed and packaged foods.

💪 Healthy Lifestyle: Emphasize that prevention is better than cure by promoting self-control over unhealthy cravings, encouraging mindful eating habits, and prioritizing health and wellness in everyday life.

4. Process and Timeline 🗓️

• Observation and Research: They began by collecting different types of packaged foods, researching the ingredients, and comparing label claims with actual nutritional facts

.• Survey: Using Google Forms, they surveyed peers, parents, and teachers.

Results revealed that:

1. Most people eat packaged food 2–3 times a week.

2. Chips, biscuits, and soft drinks were the most commonly consumed items.

• Analysis of Misleading Marketing: Students studied how advertisements target children, showing junk food as “superhero” food and learned how companies exaggerate claims.

• Presentation and Skit: The skit humorously yet powerfully portrayed how junk foods like noodles, biscuits, and soft drinks disguise harmful chemicals behind colorful packaging. Students also emphasized how plastic packaging adds to environmental damage.

• Solutions and Pledge: The project ended with a call for mindful eating, substituting fruits, sprouts, and traditional snacks for processed ones, and take the pledge: “Say No to Packaged Food, Stay Healthy!”

5. Student Reflection 💭

Through this project, students gained a deeper understanding that:

🍟 Awareness is Action: Knowing the dangers of junk food is not enough—making small, consistent changes matters.

🥗 Homemade is Healthier: Real food spoils because it’s natural; packaged food lasts unnaturally long because it’s filled with chemicals.

🧃 Marketing Isn’t Always Truth: Claims like “stronger, taller, sharper” or “made with real fruit” are often misleading.

🌍 Health and Environment Are Connected: Saying no to packaged food also means saying no to plastic pollution.

💪 Be the Change: Students realized they can influence their families and friends by modelling healthy eating habits.

Closing Thought 🌟

“Say No to Packaged Food – Stay Healthy” was not just a project, it became an eye-opening journey for both students and adults. It encouraged everyone to look beyond shiny packets and tempting ads, to question what they eat, and to choose health over convenience.

At Ashraya, through our Health and Nutrition Program, we conduct regular health check-ups, yoga sessions, and physical education activities to ensure every child develops strong habits for lifelong wellbeing. We continue to nurture children into conscious, responsible individuals who value mindful choices and holistic health.

Projects like this empower students to take charge of their wellbeing, inspire their families, and contribute to healthier, more aware communities.

Call to Action ✊

Prevention is power, and together, we can create a generation that chooses health over convenience. By rejecting packaged food, embracing fresh and wholesome nutrition, and prioritizing both physical and mental wellbeing, we can nurture stronger, healthier children and communities. ✋ Take the pledge: “Say No to Packaged Food, Stay Healthy!”

👉 Stand with these young changemakers. Support Ashraya in empowering children to become advocates of healthy living, creating stronger, healthier, and more aware communities.

Contribute here: ashrayainitiative.org/donate