On September 12, 2019, CalFresh Healthy Living at University of California (CFHL,UC) participated in the Healthy Snack Day, a Statewide Day of Action in California, to raise awareness about healthy snacking. California Department of Public Health provided resources and materials including origami snack finders, healthy snack recipe cards, and stickers that were popular with students. This year, CFHL,UC hosted Healthy Snack Day event at two locations: Wells Middle School in Alvord Unified and Desert Sands Unified School District Child Development Center in La Quinta.
At Wells Middle School, CFHL,UC team (Claudia Carlos and Nicole Ogosi) partnered with Raj Kaur from Dairy Council to provide string cheese and a healthy snack handout during all three lunch periods. Claudia and Nicole shared “The origami activity and stickers were so popular we ran out! We even had a cafeteria staff member stop by our table.” The CFHL,UC team taught a Plan, Shop, Save, & Cook class at Wells that morning, and the parents also participated in making the origami snack finder. They loved the hummus cooking demonstration and tasting with fresh vegetables featured on the "Crunchy" Healthy Snack Day recipe card. Parents went home with a variety of colorful, easy, healthy snack recipe cards to prepare for their children.
At the Child Development Center in La Quinta, CFHL,UC Educator, Jackie Barahona, talked about the importance of eating healthy and reviewed MyPlate with a class of 24 students. Students then began to make the recipe ‘Ants on a Log'. The children enjoyed making their own healthy snacks and choosing their toppings (blueberries, goldfish pretzels, cranberries, and raisins). Everyone, including the teacher and three aides, joined in and praised the children for eating healthy.
