The SNAP-Ed Nutrition Education Program and The Center of Excellence in collaboration with the Mental Health Specialist for SUAREC, Ashlyn Harrison, hosted a two-day Fall Wellness Festival for the Freshman students at Liberty Magnet High School in East Baton Rouge Parish.
Nutrition Educator for East Baton Rouge and East Feliciana, Evan Egana says that this was an event she had been trying to put on since working with Liberty High. She aimed to keep students engaged by bringing new and exciting ways to teach nutrition education.
SNAP-Ed along with the Center of Excellence partnered with Ashlyn Harrison, Assistant Specialist in Mental Health to encourage students to participate in “Mindful Stretching”. She demonstrated different stretches and brought students to their happy place through breathing and imagination.
Afterward, Egana and Brittany Howard, Program Coordinator for the Center of Excellence, provided a food demonstration on Monster Green Smoothies. Egana explained the importance of consuming well-balanced meals to help energize the students throughout the day with breakfast being the most important meal.
The students told Egana that they had never tried spinach in their smoothies before. After tasting it, they stated they could barely taste it due to the fruit overpowering the spinach taste. Egana and Howard explained how making smoothies is an easy way to get the MyPlate recommended servings of vegetables without tasting them. Overall, Egana says most of the students loved the smoothie and even said they would start making it at home.
This event was just one of SNAP Ed’s initiatives that provide research-based nutrition education that coincides with the USDA Dietary Guidelines and MyPlate Food Guidance System For qualifying individuals in communities throughout the 13 parishes the program serves.
