Teacher wins his weight in bananas

A man who would know is Peter Van Wellen (pictured, left), a sports teacher in Kapellen, Antwerp province, who has just been awarded a supply of bananas weighing as much as he does. Van Wellen was the winner of the Haven & Goed competition organised by the Port of Antwerp. The prize was handed to him by city councillor for port affairs Marc Van Peel (right), whose name could not be more appropriate. 

The competition asked entrants to explain why they should win the bananas. “As a physical education teacher, I'm very concerned about exercise and healthy eating,” Van Wellen replied. “One banana contains 80 food supplements, and is also a permanent fixture in my daily diet.”

The 75kg of bananas, he also wrote, would be shared among the 600 pupils and staff at his school. 

The Port of Antwerp is actually the biggest banana processing centre in the world. Every day, the port receives 23 million kilograms of the fruit from producers in Africa and Central and South Americas. The cargo is then shipped throughout Europe.

“Anyone who eats a banana in Paris, Barcelona or here at a school in Kapellen,” said Van Peel, “can be pretty sure that the fruit has passed through the port of Antwerp.”

Photo courtesy Antwerp Port Authority