By Alex Neidenberg
This year Leah’s Pantry has the unique opportunity to work with Spanish speaking parents in the San Bruno School District. Working closely with the Wellness Department, we have identified three schools that would benefit from our Foods Smarts Workshops. Belle Air Elementary, our first partner school, ended earlier this month, and graduated fourteen Latino parents from the interactive six-week series.
The multicultural class covered a variety of topics, but focused on how to use the resources in the area to provide healthier meals for young children and toddlers. Every week, the parents shared stories and common concerns about raising children and how to incorporate physical activity and decrease their amount of “screen time”. As parents of a generation of children raised in front of a screen this was a common topic and parents discussed how they could include their children in cooking and grocery shopping to make eating and dining more interactive. During the six weeks, the parents’ discussion became an informal support group that created a strong sense of community while discussing pressing nutrition issues.
On the last day of class the parents played a jeopardy style nutrition game where they tested their collective health knowledge. Test yourself with the questions below!