National Nutrition Month Updates – Nutrition Education in Schools

March 31, 2016  | By CATCH Global Foundation

CATCH’s Cuenca, Ecuador Liason Rose Jennings writes again on her experience in Ecuador, this time with a nutrition focus for National Nutrition Month!

Although Ecuador does not celebrate National Nutrition Month as we do in the United States, I am personally celebrating with some of the accomplishments CATCH has made in the past month and a half. It really has been a journey!

• Over 20 schools in Cuenca are now incorporating nutrition education and CATCH physical activity games into their school day.
• Over the past 6 weeks, 7th graders have been learning about mindful eating (eating with intention and attention), energy balance, nutrient dense foods, reading nutrition labels, portion sizes, and sugar sweetened beverages. The next half of the program will include lessons on how to choose a healthy options when eating out, picking a healthy breakfast, and cardiovascular health among other topics.
• One school from the first phase of the project celebrated their achievements with an exposition for parents and food tasting demo. They made delicious fresh juices and a fruit salad to sample and spoke about the benefits of eating healthy in front of the whole school.
• Many schools have started to get creative in practicing lessons and connecting with families through parent cooking classes, family nights, and school-wide events.
• Community members and organizations have begun to reach out to support CATCH. The Vegetable Bar, a new healthy restaurant on 3 de Noviembre, along with some local chefs/food enthusiasts, have offered to sponsor CATCH in the future with some fresh food demos and field trips.
• Several more local institutional collaborations have sprouted, including The University of Cuenca Faculty of Chemical Sciences where health promotion and nutrition departments are housed.
• Over a dozen university students are completing their teaching practicums through CATCH, actively helping the schools, with planning and some teaching practice in the classrooms implementing CATCH.
• The Ministry of Education and Consejo de Salud continues to help coordinate and support the efforts of CATCH.

However, nothing beats seeing the lessons in action and hearing about the effect they are having. One teacher who was nervous at first about implementing the program told me that her kids have started to change the snacks they bring to school because they knew they weren’t “Go Foods.” Another teacher said she’s learning a lot about nutrition that she didn’t know before having to review the lessons every week. She said she’s stopped drinking sodas completely.

To hear for yourself about the impact CATCH is having, check out this awesome interview from one of our kids at la escuela Tres de Noviembre at Juan Montavlo and Antonio Vega Muñoz (in Spanish):

Many of the schools are talking about how excessive sugar in beverages can lead to overweight and obesity. Here is a healthy alternative from registered dietitian/nutritionist and CATCH consultant Susan Burke March:

For more recipes, physical activity games and ideas and general updates on CATCH here in Cuenca, check out our new Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/CATCHSalud/

And for questions contact: [email protected]