El recurso didáctico de los huertos y las granjas escolares del Programa Edalnu y sus antecedentes (1958-1972)

Here, we analyse the creation of school allotments and farms, promoted by the Agricultural Outreach Service as one of its education and training actions in the 1950s, and their continuing existence as educational units within the Food and Nutrition Education Programme (Spanish acronym: Edalnu) launched in 1961. The main sources used in this study were the Boletin Informativo de Extension Agraria (agricultural outreach newsletter), subsequently named the Revista de Extension Agraria (agricultural outreach journal), as well as the publications and documents related to school allotments and farms generated by the Edalnu Programme. The implantation of allotments and farms helped to encourage local production of healthy food, as well as improving eating habits by schools and families. Application of the “learning by doing” methodology fostered discovery learning, problem-solving and service. In respect of the history matters and the uses of the past, the integrative vision of the Edalnu Program, in which the school, the environment and the family were interconnected, can serve as an example for the current education strategies in food and nutrition.