Power Bags

Children need a healthy meal during the break so they can keep going all day and perform well at school. An important first step was taken with a scheme to provide around 100,000 "Power Bags" to school children for free. The project is organised by the REWE Group, through the store brands REWE and PENNY, in partnership with the "Tafel", Germany's volunteer organisation of food bank distribution points for the needy - its federal association (Bundesverband Deutsche Tafel e.V.) and the local "Tafel" groups in the participating cities.

From September to December 2009, the pupils at eight elementary and special schools in Germany (Leipzig, Chemnitz, Gadebusch, Rostock, Hattersheim, Bamberg, Bremen and Aachen) received a free snack bag containing a nourishing sandwich, a drink and a piece of fruit as well as other food items within the framework of a three-month pilot project.

To make sure the Power Bag delivers what its name promises, the contents have been chosen by a nutrition specialist. She is a member of the pool of experts at the German dieticians association, the Verband der Oecotrophologen e.V. (VDOE). As a certified VDOE nutrition consultant, she has carefully identified the best food items from the sponsors' own product range, taking account of dietary recommendations for children and teenagers.

The project was also supported by financial and food donations from Campina, Chiquita, Danone, Kraft Foods, Nestlé, Unilever and Zentis along with two production companies belonging to the REWE Group itself - Glocken Bäckerei (bakery) and Wilhelm Brandenburg (butcher shop).

As part of its sustainability strategy, REWE Group will be acting in cooperation with partners in 2010 as well to distribute the Power Bags at five schools to encourage a balanced diet from an early age. In this way, the food trading company is taking responsibility for an issue of great social importance. The Bags literally give children the power they need to get through a long and often strenuous day at school. Fruit and all the other healthy items are ideal pick-me-ups and should be a permanent and life-long part of everyone's daily diet.