Part of the mission of the Pennsylvania Dietetic Association Foundation
is to promote health through nutrition education and research for the public.
In 2004, we acquired grant money to develop a workshop, named “Make
Time for Health” for parents of school-aged children. This was a two-hour
interactive workshop for school districts targeted toward low-income families.
Fifty-five school districts participated. The following objectives for the
workshop were established:
• The participant and family will start making healthier food choices.
• The participant will understand the value of daily exercise and the
importance of a healthy weight.
• The participant will know where to find reliable nutrition resources.
School workshop requests came from a variety of places: Ruth McGinley,
PADAF President 2005-6, set up a booth at a summer symposium for
school nurses; we advertised in the PANA newsletter; Jan Little set up a PADA
booth at a school counselor’s conference. And the Department of Education
provided us with an initial list of schools that were interested in further parent
nutrition education.
The response from parents was overwhelmingly positive. For example,
“Kelly was wonderful...we could have listened to her for hours...”
I received many other participant comments including appreciation of
the materials presented and compliments of the presenter. (In fact, there was
not ONE negative comment!)
Many school systems do not have access to nutrition professionals. They
are hungry for solid nutrition information and healthy tips for parents. Make
Time for Health more than fulfi lled this need. In fact, in several school districts,
this was the fi rst time they interacted with a registered dietitian/diet technician
and were very pleased to fi nd a resource. Many of our members now
serve on wellness committees within their school district.
About Our Participants:
Parents were asked to list what they learned as a result of attending this
workshop. Here are some of the top results:
• There are 17 teaspoons of sugar in one 20-ounce can of soda.
• Breakfast is a very important meal.
• There is a new food guide pyramid.
• Many learned how to read food labels including the importance of
evaluating ingredients.
• Parents learned how to identify trans fats, the different names for
trans fats, and the danger of these fats.
Parents were also asked to list one new thing they planned to do as a
result of attending this workshop with several of these top results:
• Increase the activity level of the entire family.
• Eat breakfast and encourage their children to do so.
• Increase their family’s fruit and vegetable intake.
• Control portion sizes.
• Read labels and the calculate the sugar contents per serving.
Number of schools:
55 |
Number of Parents attending:
834 |
Number of children affected:
1292 |
% of parents stated they learned a moderate amount
or more of information:
76% |
What is Next?
The program is now copyrighted and by the end of August, all of the materials
and the power point presentation will be on the PADA website as a member service.
It will include a “how to do a workshop in your school” as well and members
are welcome to download the materials and use these in a variety of settings.
“Make Time For Health—Strong Bones”
We recently acquired new grant dollars from the PA Department of Health
(thanks to Ruth McGinley, PADAF past president, and Jan Little, current PADA
President) to research and develop a program on preventing osteoporosis. We
hope to have stipend dollars for any dietitian who would like to provide this 45-
minute presentation to parents of school-aged children; the stipend will be applied
for through the PADA website.
By the end of August, we plan to have this power point presentation, materials
and instruction available through the website so that any member is welcome
to download the materials and use the presentation in their school district. The
instructions listed for applying for a community grant are available on the PADA
website. www.eatrightpa.org/scholarships/grants.htm
The objective(s) of this presentation is to:
• Increase knowledge of the need for developing strong bones during childhood
and adolescents.
• Identify calcium-rich food sources parents can incorporate into their
children’s diet to build strong bones.
• Encourage their children’s increased activity level to enhance strong
bones.
Many thanks to PADAF president Cynthia Burke and past PADAF presidents, Denice Ferko-Adams, Sue Gargano and Ruth McGinley. And a special thanks to Denice for developing a week of recipes used as a handout, and
to Joyce Stevens (recent graduate from Cedar Crest College) who assisted me in
gathering the data from the programs and helped keep me organized. Finally,
thank you to all of the members who participated in providing Make Time for
Health in their school communities. It has been a joy to work with all of you! |
