Professional cooks including the Nollywood Superstar Omotola Jalade have charged Nigerians on nutrition. The cooks explained that one in four people globally do not receive the nutrition they need to live healthy lives.

The professional cooks, who spoke after a programme to mark the World Food Day in Agege, Lagos. The event, organised by Knorr Iron-Fortified Stock Cube team, a product of Unilever Nigeria Plc, was titled ‘Share A Meal.’ The team fed five thousand students of the Government College, Agege, Lagos.

Knorr Cube team in partnership with the World Food Programme donated nutritious meals to schools in Lagos, while encouraging mums and daughters across the country to imbibe the culture of tossing green vegetable, stirring them in and crumbling the Knorr iron fortified stock cube in their meal.

The cooks informed that Knorr is reinforcing its promise to help the majority of Nigerians who do not eat enough food high in iron, especially adolescent girls. Adding that in May 2015, Knorr unveiled its commitment to help reduce the prevalence of iron deficiency anaemia in Nigeria, a major public health issue, by making nutritious cooking more desirable, easy to understand and affordable.

Jalade, Knorr Ambassador, taught students of Government Junior College, Government Comprehensive Junior College, and Girls Junior High School, all in Agege Lagos, how to prepare nutritious delicacy. The programme also benefited Central Primary School, Local Government Primary School, Ikeja Primary School, and Ikeja Junior High School, all in Ikeja, Lagos.

Jalade said she joined in cooking nutritious meals to play her part in addressing the serious issue of anaemia. She added that teenage girls need 50 per cent more iron than when they were younger to cope with body changes and pregnant women are particularly vulnerable to anaemia.

Jalade said: “I absolutely love hosting the live radio cook along today with students practically. It was great fun cooking the meals for the school children and chatting live on the radio. Beef stew is one of my favourites so I hope everyone was tossing, stirring and crumbling during the show too.”

Managing Director, Unilever Nigeria Plc, Yaw Nsarkoh, said the commitment forms part of Knorr’s Green Food Steps programme to improve the health and happiness of a billion people by unlocking more flavour and goodness from everyday food. He said he was excited to play such a big part on World Food Day and completely committed to helping Nigerians to get the nutrients they need from their meals.

Nsarkoh said: “The Green Food Steps programme was launched in May 2015 engaging 50,000 mothers and daughters, tapping into the deeply rooted habits of mothers passing recipes on to their daughters, to practice the new cooking habits in Lagos.”