Nestlé and the Association of the Blind in Romania make nutrition guidelines accessible for people with visual disabilities

Deniza Cristian 02/06/2022 | 11:07

Nestlé, the largest food and beverage company in the world, launches for the first time in Romania the VeggiePortia and NutriPortion nutrition guides in Braille language, designed specifically to help people with visual disabilities to prepare their own nutritionally balanced and healthy dishes.

 

The nutrition guides were adapted together with the Association of the Blind in Romania and the plastic artist Monica Mocanu.

“We received with great joy the initiative of Nestlé to make these nutrition tools in Braille. The goal of the project carried out together this year is to learn life skills, increasing self-confidence and autonomy for people with special needs”, says Mihai Dinu, first vice-president of the Association of the Blind in Romania.

More than a billion people suffer from a form of disability out of which 95 million are children, according to the first Global Disability Report published by the World Health Organization and the World Bank in 20211. In our country there are over 95,000 blind people, of whom 2,700 are children. These people need to be integrated, to be recognized and accepted in an inclusive society that gives them the opportunity to be independent.

“Nestlé’s mission is to help improve the quality of life, offering healthy and tasty options to those who want to have a balanced lifestyle. We are always concerned that people of all genders, religions, cultures, sexual orientations or people with disabilities are included in society and have a healthy life, which is why we are members of the ILO Global Business And Disability Network and The Valuable 500. We wanted to adapt our nutrition guidelines already created to meet the needs of blind people. There’s a lot to do to make their lives easier, and that’s why we’ve developed NutriPlate and VeggiePlate in Braille language as well, to help them be independent in terms of making their daily meals and to give them a role model in terms of healthy recipes”, says Nicoleta Tupiță, nutritionist, Nutrition Health and Wellness Manager, Nestle România.

Along with the two plates for balanced meals, 20 recipes for lunch and dinner in audio format were also created, specially adapted in terms of the units of measurement of ingredients for people with visual disabilities. This collection of healthy recipes has been designed according to the principles of VeggiePlate and NutriPlate and includes vegetarian recipes and vegan recipes that support a sustainable diet, but also recipes suitable for children.

A Guide to Good Life in Braille was also created as part of the initiative with practical tips to become independent in the kitchen. This Guide designed for HORECA complements the tools of the initiative and aims to inform partners in this sector about the appropriate interaction with people with visual disabilities for the accessibility of restaurants and cafes. The need to dine in the city more often was identified in the workshops conducted by Nestlé and the Romanian Association for People with Visual Disabilities.

All these tools can be accessed and downloaded on the https://www.nestle.ro/veggie-nutri-braille website. Through the Romanian Association for People with Visual Disabilities, these tools for a healthy diet will be distributed to people with visual disabilities from the association’s database.

“For me it is a real privilege that my passion has brought me together with this initiative, through which I will have the opportunity to give life to such useful nutrition tools that will make the difference in the daily activities of people with visual disabilities”, says Mona Mocanu, plastic artist.

NutriPortion and VeggiePortion can be downloaded from www.nestle.ro website, and are guides to quantity, inspiration and diversity. Plates show the optimal proportions and the right combinations between different groups of plant-based foods, so that all meals for both adults and children are well balanced and provide the necessary nutrients. Plates are divided into three segments: 50% vegetable, 25% animal or vegetable protein, nuts and seeds, 25% whole grain products and potatoes. According to a Nestlé study from December 2021, 50% of Romanians in urban areas consume at least 1-2 meals based on plant foods per week, and 16% at least 3. Also, 41% say they want to increase the consumption of plant-based foods in the future. These clues make VeggiePlate option a useful guide for all those who increase their consumption of plant foods .

Discover Nestlé’s other food initiatives on www.nestle.ro/nutritie/.

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