The project had several objectives: to reflect on the quality of food, eating habits and food chains, to compare this with partner cities, to discuss common and different elements, to identify those that have a positive effect on the psyche of an individual living in the city and to propose an analogy that would be applicable in the conditions of Prague. We assumed that people living in the twin cities would face similar challenges as we did. Valencia and Gdansk are both relatively large cities, both located on the coasts, yet they have to face a flood of cheap, easily accessible and not very good quality food offered mostly by supermarkets or diners. Valencia is on the Mediterranean, Gdansk on the Baltic Sea, so we have taken into account the differences, which must necessarily be due to geographical specificities, but also to cultural ones. The Valencian school is located about 30 km from the centre of Valencia in the village of Benaguasil, while the Gdansk school is located in the outlying residential area of Osowa, about 20 km from the city centre. Both schools are focused on the local community, with students close to home. The Prague school is located in the centre of the capital.
Our project focused on the basic principles of life balance. We drew on questionnaires on eating habits that pupils had completed in the past, on the increase in psychological problems recorded by the educational counsellor and the school psychologist, and on our own observations. The above sources of information indicate a certain discomfort which is at least partly related to the pupils' daily rhythm and their eating. In the framework of the project, we wanted to observe with the students the rhythm of life of the pupils and their families in the partner schools, their habits, the types of food frequently consumed, their quality and the food chains. The aim was that the participants could compare their observations, discuss them on a subjective level, but also find objective conclusions. Similar work was done by students in the partner school in Valencia and in Gdansk. We also welcomed both schools to Prague, where our students tried to show our foreign colleagues our habits, introduce the quality of food and discuss with them how to produce food more environmentally friendly and in such a way that the whole process has a positive impact on the psyche of a person living in a big city.