Nutrition Network Visits Saline Elementary Students

students learned lessons in nutrition April 21.

That's when four soon-to-graduate seniors from Madonna University visited the school to talk to kids about nutrition. Lamia Dhan, Tricia Bischoff,  Kirsten Cappabianca and Shawna Broida were guests of the school.

“We did this for Livonia as part of our senior year,” Dhan said. “So why not here in Saline?” 

Dhan has two children at Pleasant Ridge. The foursome received a $300 grant from the Southeastern Michigan Dietetic Association to purchase supplies they needed to talk to kids about food choices.

Broida and Cappabianca joined Mrs. Twork’s kindergarten class just after lunch. With a large board featuring the food pyramid, they sat down on the carpet with the kids to talk food. The class eagerly greeted them with a unison, “Good Afternoon!”.

“Do you think French fries would be very good as part of the green (vegetable) group?” Cappabianca asked the kids. They responded with an emphatic, “No!” 

The biggest emphasis was on the oils group. 

“On the chart this is a very skinny group,” Broida said. “These are oils and fats. We need a little bit of them, but not very much at all.” 

She reminded the students that fish and nuts were the best ways to get oils. 

The most popular food group was vegetables, as many children raised their hands to name their favorite green vegetable, from asparagus to zucchini. 

“What adventurous eaters you are!” said Broida.

Throughout the lesson the kids were given different colored beads to correlate with each food group. By the end of the meeting, each child had a keepsake keychain to help them remember the food groups.   

The four Madonna students paired up and scheduled visits to different classrooms throughout the day.

The Nutrition Network is available for school visits throughout their semester. For more information contact Madonna University.

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