By

Nicole Hampton,   Hayden Valley Elem School

Play:

Snack Smarter Schoolwide

Topics:

Access to Healthy Foods

We had our Kickoff be a snack party that every student attended during their active health class. I developed five stations that each student went to and recruited some amazing parent volunteers to help assemble snacks (one of the parents is even a professional chef). Each one of our 200 students made Pico De Gallo, Hummus, Veggie Pizzas, Ants on a Log, Smoothies, Apple Slice Racecars, and Cucumber Sandwiches. It is amazing to see how many students tried food they have never tried before and love it!! Parents were all invited to attend with their child and enjoy the party with them. There was an amazing turnout among parents wanting to go to each station with their student. One student even put her mother into tears because of how well she was eating and how many new foods she wanted to make at home. Overall, this was a HUGE success that FUTP 60 helped me to motivate the students.

How did students and adults work together as a team?

One adult was showing the students how to create the snack and the students were helping each other with encouragement and praise.

How did you accomplish your goals?

My goal was to get students to make their own snacks and encourage parents to start buying healthy food instead of the sugary snacks. The students have come to me since then, telling me how they have made the same snacks at home now. Parents have said they are grateful for the exposure and positive encouragement from peers.