Sacramento, CA, Jan. 11, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Dairy Council of California, in partnership with CalFresh Healthy Living, proudly announces the release of Let’s Eat Healthy Nutrition Lessons, an educational video series being piloted in select Santa Clara County schools to elevate healthy eating.
Created to support educators and health professionals, the free Let’s Eat Healthy Nutrition Lessons come in a short, highly sharable video format accompanied by science-based nutrition curriculum to educate and equip students with the knowledge and skills needed to establish healthier eating habits for lifelong health. The video series was developed by Dairy Council of California in partnership with CalFresh Healthy Living Programs of University of California Cooperative Extension Santa Clara County and Santa Clara County Public Health Department, with approval from California Department of Public Health and University of California Cooperative Extension.
“The Let’s Eat Healthy Nutrition Lessons are an innovative and versatile resource,” said Tracy Mendez, registered dietitian nutritionist and nutrition education program director at Dairy Council of California, a nutrition education organization. “The videos enable teachers to provide their students with high-quality nutrition education that can be taught in a synchronous or asynchronous setting, making it ideal for the classroom or distance learning.”
Let’s Eat Healthy Nutrition Lessons align with Dairy Council of California’s Let’s Eat Healthy 4th and 5th Grade Nutrition Curriculum, making lessons easy for teachers to assign and students to follow. Each video teaches a unique lesson that focuses on a different aspect of nutrition and health, helping students increase their knowledge and skills on a variety of topics such as food groups, food nutrients and the importance of physical activity. While this pilot program is intended for fourth and fifth graders, the video resources can help engage learners of all ages to support healthier communities.
“We are happy to bring this comprehensive resource to our teachers and students during a time when health and wellness has never been more important,” said Mary B. Vollinger, program supervisor at CalFresh Healthy Living, University of California - University of California Cooperative Extension Santa Clara/San Mateo/San Francisco counties. “The success of this pilot program in Santa Clara will hopefully inspire other schools to adopt the program too, enabling more students to learn how to eat healthfully and establish healthy eating habits for lifelong health.”
Let’s Eat Healthy Nutrition Lessons were developed by Dairy Council of California and CalFresh Healthy Living as a resource of Let’s Eat Healthy, a movement to empower stakeholders to champion community health through nutrition, including educating and inspiring communities to make healthier food and beverage choices, while collectively working to find solutions to make nutritious foods like milk and dairy foods accessible and affordable to all.
The pilot program, which utilizes the Let’s Eat Healthy Nutrition Lessons and Let’s Eat Healthy 4th and 5th Grade Nutrition Curriculum, has been launched in select elementary schools in Santa Clara County to help educators and health professionals teach nutrition education and measure its impact on students’ knowledge and skills. Once the pilot program concludes, the video resources will become widely available to school districts and counties throughout California and beyond.
Let’s Eat Healthy Nutrition Lessons, Let’s Eat Healthy K-12 Nutrition Curriculum and additional nutrition resources are free to California educators and health professionals. Sign up today at HealthyEating.org/Curriculum.
Advocates for healthier children, families and communities through nutrition education are invited to learn more about Let’s Eat Healthy and join the movement at HealthyEating.org/Join.
About Dairy Council of California
For over a century, Dairy Council of California has empowered stakeholders, including educators, health professionals and community leaders, to elevate the health of children and families through the pursuit of lifelong healthy eating habits. Funded by California’s dairy farm families and local milk processors and under the guidance of California Department of Food and Agriculture, Dairy Council of California’s free science-based nutrition education resources, Mobile Dairy Classroom assemblies, training programs and online resources educate millions of students and families in California and throughout the United States. Learn more at HealthyEating.org.
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