King-Chavez Arts and Athletics Academy held an Awards Ceremony to celebrate their students’ academic growth and character education in a fun, action-packed ceremony. During the ceremony, they also honored our registered dietitian Barbara Hughes and the UC San Diego Center for Community Health for their contributions to the school during the 2017 – 2018 school year. Barbara received the “Friends of Love” award to recognize the love and support given to the school community. King-Chavez Arts and Athletics Academy specifically recognized Barbara for:
- Facilitating the activities of nutrition workshops in all 14 classrooms in the school and with parents, as opposed to in just some classrooms as per the usual model
- Policy, systems, and environmental changes (PSE) work in coordinating with the school principal, staff, teachers, and the San Diego Unified School District farm to school program staff to coordinate the logistics of bringing Harvest of the Month produce and distributing to each of the 14 classrooms for monthly taste tests and lessons
- PSE work in piloting a “birthday cart” idea in lieu of food treats for classroom birthday celebrations. The Academy has acquired and stocked a cart that is currently in use.
Our Center partners with staff and parents to implement healthy school environmental supports. As elementary school students are very impressionable and open to new ideas, we aim to positively affect their dietary behaviors. Many children and youth have never tried some common fruits and vegetables, so our Harvest of the Month (HOTM) classroom taste tests open the door to exploring new healthy foods outside of the classroom environment. In our work with the parents, we hope to improve not only individual behaviors but family lifestyles as well.
What’s next? Our Center will continue partnering with the school in determining areas of need and opportunities. Check out the photos below!
