Healthy food and healthy choices

Student discussions on which drinks had added sugar, how many teaspoons of sugar were in which drinks and how to choose wisely were part of a class by Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Education in Darby.

Ravalli County Extension Office SNAP ED instuctor Rachel Ariaz is teaching youth classes in Darby, Victor, Hamilton (Washington and Daly) and Stevensville to help students learn about making healthy food and lifestyle choices.

“We teach first, third and fifth graders three different curricula called ‘YUM’ – Youth Understanding MyPlate,” Ariaz said. “The first part of class we go over nutrition and one concept of MyPlate.”

Over six weeks of presentations, Ariaz covers fruits, vegetables, grains, protein and dairy with conversations appropriate for the grade of students.

In first grade, the presentation covers what food is in each category, in third grade students learn the nutrition from each category and fifth grade has more in-depth discussions about advertising and why people select specific foods.

After 20 minutes on basic nutrition lessons students learn about physical activity and do five to 10 minutes of new games and high energy movement.

Ariaz discusses food safety with the students.

“We cover the importance of washing your hands and like today we have yogurt and kids will ask to take it home but I’ll say no because it is a dairy food that has to be refrigerated,” Ariaz said.

At the end of each class is an opportunity to sample new foods or combinations and discuss how the food ties to the nutrition lecture portion of the class.

The Darby third grade class tested a yogurt parfait – with yogurt, apples and whole grain cereal. They discussed the nutritional value of apples.

“I’ll also ask ‘what are whole grains good for?’” Ariaz said. “Hopefully they’ll say ‘it helps your digestive system and keeps you full,’ but you never know if they’ll remember.”

Ariaz said the young learners at Darby usually remember.

“Some kids know about nutrition and have tried a variety of foods but I’ll get a kid that has never had cabbage or beets. So we’ll try it,” she said. “The kids will say ‘What? Beets have a top that looks like lettuce and you can eat it?’ This is a great way for them to get exposure to new foods and new ideas.”

Ariaz said parents are big supporters of the class.

“I had a mom say ‘I’ve never been able to get my kids to eat green peppers and now that’s all they want to eat for vegetables,’” she said. “Sometime kids just need to hear it from another person.”

Ariaz works for the Montana State University Extension Office. She attended the University of Iowa studying health promotions then she farmed for four years.

“I really like food and working with kids so it is half of a perfect job,” Ariaz said. “Kids and I are on the same wave length.”

The other half of her job is working with adults which she enjoys but said it is intimidating. Ariaz teaches nutrition classes to adults where 50 percent fall in the 185 percent above poverty line category. In that class she teaches nutrition, how to eat healthy on a budget and with limited time. She shares recipes and awards prizes when students complete the course.

The Empty Bowls fundraiser just purchased those prizes: immersion blenders, fry pan sets, knives, spice jars and coupons for spices.

Empty Bowls also provided water bottles for SNAP ED students – blue so they match the MyPlate diagram.

Ariaz said that tasting food is a learned behavior.

“Food sometimes takes 10 to 20 times of trying something to get used to it or start to like it so I remind the kids ‘hey you may not like what we are having today but try it again because you’re taste buds are always changing,” she said. “It’s a rule to try one bite then you don’t have to have it any more but try it again sometime.”

The SNAP ED materials come with a newsletter for students to take home.

“It tells parents what their children are learning and has a section of things to discuss,” Ariaz said. “It always gives ideas for exercise, snacks or breakfast. The back has an activity or recipes.”

Darby third grade instructor Kerrie Holmes said SNAP ED is a great idea for her students.

“Kids need to understand where food comes from, what is nutritious for them,” Holmes said. “We also have nutrition information with our lunch program.”

Darby has a healthy foods program, serves breakfast in the classroom and offers a healthy snack each afternoon.

“We have a great salad bar and our kids are very familiar with nutrition but this just adds to it and helps them understand where foods come from,” Holmes said.

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