24 refugees from Ukraine, Eritrea, Iraq, Venezuela, Colombia, El Salvador, Honduras, Morocco and Burkina Faso participated in workshop on healthy and economical food organized at the School of Pharmacy and Nutrition of the University of Navarra.

This initiative came from CEAR Navarra(Spanish Commission of financial aid to the Refugee), who asked Professor Itziar Zazpe her partnership to offer this workshop to refugees residing in the region, through the CORE Foundation, which has as goal to support the integration partner-labor of immigrants in Navarra. This joint action, moreover, is part of the project Service-Learning of the academic center and has the partnership of the 6th year students of Degree of Pharmacy and Nutrition María Barbería and Palmira Antoñanzas.

The workshop consisted of a theoretical session given by the experts and another session internship to position by the Culinary Technology teacher Alicia Bustos, who taught the participants how to prepare typical dishes of Navarrese gastronomy, "which in addition to being traditional, were healthy and economical, such as green beans with seasoned potatoes, vegetable broth, potato omelette, chicken paella or marinated fish," says Professor Bustos.

At the end, attendees tasted the dishes prepared and received a diploma accrediting the training, as well as a healthy lot consisting of nuts, olive oil, lentils, rice and pasta: "To complete it, we prepared a list of websites and links on basic aspects of nutrition and dietetics and included useful references to design healthy menus," adds Professor Itziar Zazpe.

An open door to new collaborations

As the teachers explain, most of the refugees did not have a Mediterranean subject food patron saint , "and there were issues related to religious beliefs that we also took into account when selecting the dishes". "In final, our goal was to transmit healthy guidelines in accordance with the Mediterranean patron saint and help them adapt their culinary customs to the place where they are now, with simple recipes, guidelines for healthy and economical shopping," details Professor Zazpe, manager of this activity in the School of Pharmacy and Nutrition.

He also adds that the workshop "made it possible to create a place for meeting and exchange between professors and assistants to find out in what other ways we can continue at contact and continue to lend them our partnership from the University. For example, with a possible guided visit of their children to the Museum of Natural Sciences".

This activity is also part of the project "Por una comida sana, tú decides"(For a healthy meal, you decide), to spread healthy lifestyle habits inside and outside the campus.