Power Bags

Children need a snack during their breaks so that they stay fit and able to learn over the entire school day. REWE Group, REWE, PENNY, the Bundesverband Deutsche Tafel e.V. and local “Tafel” organisations laid the foundation to ensure this would be possible in the form of the “Power Bags” action in 2009.

According to a survey conducted by Forsa, one out of every seven children leaves home for school on an empty stomach. In response to such findings, REWE Group, in cooperation with the Bundesverband Deutsche Tafel e.V. and the local “Tafel” organisations, developed the project Power Bag.

Since September 2009, pupils at selected elementary, secondary and special schools have been receiving nutritional snacks for their breaks.

The Power Bag contains a nutritional sandwich, fruit, a dairy product and a beverage. A dietician compiles the list of items for the Bags, basing it on the nutritional recommendations for children and young people. The expert is a member of the Verband der Oecotrophologen e.V. (VDOE) (Federation of Nutritional Scientists) and is the recipient of the certificate “Ernährungsberaterin VDOE”. Changes are regularly made in the composition of the Bags to prevent monotony.

The project is supported by monetary and food donations from FrieslandCampina, Chiquita, Danone, Ehrmann (since January 2011), Kraft Foods, Nestlé, Unilever, Zentis and the production companies Glocken Bäckerei and Wilhelm Brandenburg, both members of REWE Group, as well as others.

REWE Group and the Bundesverband Deutsche Tafel e.V. are making an important social statement with the project Power Bag. Teachers and pupils are encouraged to take a closer look at the topic of “healthy nutrition”. Just one example: common breakfast breaks have been introduced at several schools.

In 2009, 1,581 children were recipients of Power Bags. In 2010, the number rose to 2,626 pupils. During these two years, a total of 245,925 breakfast bags were distributed at schools in the following cities: Aachen, Bamberg, Blankenhain, Bremen, Chemnitz, Dresden, Eschwege, Gadebusch, Hattersheim, Hildesheim, Leipzig, Magdeburg, Osnabrück, Quedlinburg, Rostock, Uichteritz and Wolgast.

In 2011, more schools from Hanau and Hamburg Bergedorf have been added. During the first half of 2011, just under 101,000 Power Bags were distributed to 1,175 children at a total of 8 schools.

The four-month pilot phase was accompanied by a survey among teachers and pupils conducted from September to December 2009. The response was so positive that the project was continued. A second survey conducted between April and November 2010 addressed primarily the teachers and pupils of this pilot phase and confirmed the positive results: more than 80 per cent of the pupils wanted to continue receiving their daily Power Bags. Ninety-six per cent of the teachers were convinced that the healthy breakfast made an important contribution to balanced diets. Forty-one per cent of the educators noted that the children performed better in their lessons. And 43 per cent observed improvement in social behaviour as a consequence of the regular common breakfasts.

The parents of the pupils also approved the break-time snacks. The survey results clearly showed that the help was received by those people who urgently needed it. The success has convinced REWE Group and the Bundesverband Deutsche Tafel e.V. to extend the Power Bag project at least until the end of 2011.