The "Antlers Food Education Caravan" targets elementary school students in the five hometown cities. Its purpose is to give back to the community the knowledge of diet and exercise accumulated as a professional soccer club, and to promote the sound development and growth of children. It started as a project of the Antlers Hometown Council with the support of Showa Sangyo Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo; Representative Director and President: Kazuhiko Niizuma), an official partner.
To date, the program has made repeated visits to elementary schools in the five hometown cities, conducting a total of 97 lectures over eight years, with 8,700 participating children. The brochure used in the lectures features top team players every year, promoting breakfast and the five major nutrients, introducing local ingredients from the five hometown cities, showcasing meal menus from the Antlers youth dormitory, and providing guidance on eating posture and proper chopstick holding. In 2022, Shuhei Mizoguchi, who came from the youth team, along with Yuta Higuchi and Keigo Tsunemoto, are featured in the brochure.
This year's program will be implemented starting in September for 14 elementary schools in Kamisu City, with classes on food education using teaching materials featuring top team players.
Track Record of Initiatives (Number of Schools / Number of Participating Children)
・2014: Kashima City (12 schools / 1,880 children)・2015: Kashima City (12 schools / 1,078 children), Namegata City (6 schools / 880 children)
・2016: Hokota City (16 schools / 1,057 children)
・2017: Kamisu City (15 schools / 1,371 children)
・2018: Itako City (6 schools / 394 children)
・2019: Kashima City (12 schools / 911 children)
・2020: Hokota City (9 schools / 536 children)
・2021: Itako City (5 schools / 356 children), Namegata City (4 schools / 244 children)
・Total: 8,707 children
