Integrative Health and Wellness Program visits local school to teach healthy snacking
Bayside Academy teacher’s cooking class experience at USA Health leads to collaboration to help second graders apply hands-on skills for healthy eating.
By Michelle Ryan
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This spring, second graders at Bayside Academy received a special visit from USA Health’s Integrative Health and Wellness Program that was as educational as it was delicious. The in-class cooking experience covered healthy snacking, and it included hands-on preparation and a taste test.
Amy Ramigosa, a second-grade teacher at Bayside, launched the idea for the visit after experiencing hands-on cooking classes offered by the USA Health program.
“I attended a kids’ cooking class with my daughter and friends this summer,” she said. “We had a great experience, and I thought it could be a fun opportunity for our second-grade classes at Bayside.”
Ramigosa took the idea to the Integrative Health and Wellness team to discuss how to get the students involved.
“We discussed options for getting students in the kitchen,” said Margaret Kappel, director of operations for the USA Health program. “Ultimately, we decided that if we wanted to capture the whole second grade, we would have to go to them.”
The visit covered how to build a balanced plate, how to hold a knife safely while cutting, and how to understand the basics of nutrition information labels.
“We also made energy balls and a yogurt dip served with fresh fruit that they could cut up,” Kappel said. “Early awareness of healthy nutrition is vital to the success of future health.”
Everyone agreed the experience was a success for the students.
“They had so much fun, and many tried small bites of things that they were unwilling to try before,” Ramigosa said. “Some just enjoyed their favorite fruit while others loved all the fruit dipped in the yogurt, but their favorite part was mixing the energy bites.”
As a teacher, Ramigosa often notices when students bring unhealthy snacks, they are starving by lunchtime because they don’t feel satisfied, so the healthy snack approach for the hands-on class was useful. And it made a difference.
“All of these snacks were easy for them to make on their own,” she said. “I had one student who used the energy bite recipe and made her own snack for the following week.”
For Ramigosa, it was exciting to see her vision of teaching the children more about healthy eating become a reality.
“We are so appreciative of USA Health for providing us this opportunity, and the grant that made it possible,” she said. “I can’t recommend the experience enough. I am hopeful that more classes will be available soon for kids and even teens.”
The Integrative Health and Wellness Program is offering hands-on cooking classes now at its teaching kitchens in Mobile and Fairhope. To learn more about them or to sign up, click here.
