Sometimes it’s hard to imagine that we’re really making a difference in the fight against childhood obesity. We hear report after report telling us all the “bad stuff.” For those of us working diligently to see a change in the tide, we can have moments of discouragement. Fortunately, thanks to the HOPE2 grant from the W.K Kellogg Foundation, we were recently reminded that all of our hard work does make a difference! Specifically, we collected stories from schools in Collier County, Florida to add to our year-end report and we thought we’d share them with you. We hope you’re encouraged as well as you read just a few of the stories coming out of those amazing schools:
- A first grade student at Manatee Elementary said that while shopping at the grocery store with her mom, she noticed her mom buying cookies for her sister as a snack. The student told her mom to buy carrot sticks instead.
- A second grade student at Avalon Elementary said he now uses fruit in his cereal instead of adding sugar and then said, “It tastes so much better and I feel better too!”
- A teacher at Parkside Elementary said that she now eats a complete breakfast every morning instead of a quick bite and noticed she has more energy with her students.
- A parent at Golden Gate Elementary said that her son guides her to buy more nutritious cereals, instead of the sugary cereals he preferred in the past.
- A kindergarten student at Avalon said that she now like high fiber, low fat whole wheat bread better than the white bread.
- A parent mentioned to a teacher at Mike Davis Elementary that her second grade daughter asked her family to try low fat milk instead of whole milk for breakfast.
- A teacher at Mike Davis Elementary said that her students are now trying their fruit and veggies everyday instead of throwing their food away.
- A teacher at Golden Gate Elementary said that she noticed one of her students who was overweight and had low energy, now picks a fruit or a veggie at lunch time instead of a cookie.
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