Spreading a Culture of Health

Last week, I attended a training session run by a local non-profit organization, Real Food For Kids. They have a fantastic goal: working with our public schools to improve the quality of food on offer, raising awareness of health and nutrition among the students, and – I love this – “building a culture of health” that spreads to our homes and communities.

This organization shows what’s possible when a few passionate people get together and create change. They started in 2010 with a small group of parents at a PTA meeting. Since then, they’ve expanded to four counties, registered as a 501c3 organization, and helped bring salad bars to hundreds of schools in our area. They are amazing!

I’ve started thinking a lot about nutrition education and literacy, both because of my pre-diabetes and because I have two young children. How can we expect our children to learn about healthy eating if they are constantly surrounded by junk food? We do all we can at home, but if schools and society in general are sending opposite messages (i.e. serving cupcakes or rice crispy treats at every turn), our task as parents becomes that much more difficult. I don’t want my children to discover, someday, that they need to reform their eating habits because of a medical issue, like I did. How much better if we can cultivate a love of healthy eating when they’re young and prepare them to make good choices when they go out into the world.

How much better, but how challenging! Well-meaning teachers, coaches, grandparents, friends… they’re all ready to provide my kids with a “treat,” seemingly at every turn, and it all adds up.

I’ll be writing more about the challenges of raising healthy kids in this space, but connecting with Real Food For Kids reassured me that I’m not alone, and that, if we work together, we just might be able to change the culture of our schools and communities to one that places a premium on whole foods, exercise, and healthy (but still fun!) celebrations. Worthy goals indeed.

What is the health picture of your school, church, or other community organization? What messages about healthy eating and physical fitness does your organization convey, intentionally or not, through its events and activities?

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