Live Well Kids Nutrition Education

The Beach Cities Health District is sponsoring the Live Well Kids obesity prevention program at Madison Elementary School. Goals include:

• Increasing physical activity for students
• Improving knowledge and behaviors regarding healthy eating
• Increasing students access to and consumption of fruits and vegetables
• Providing nutrition knowledge to parents
• Promoting nutrition, physical activity and a healthy eating environment

This program is part of an ongoing commitment to raise active, healthy children in our community.

School Garden Building Day

Saturday, February 2, 2008, 9:00 am - noon

Students and their families are invited to help build a garden patch on school grounds, between the CDC buildings and the main playground, for our new Live Well Kids program. The garden will provide the opportunity for students, teachers and parents to work together planting, cultivating and harvesting fresh produce. Best of all, students will get a chance to eat the fruit of their labor!

To get started for our spring planting, we will be preparing the garden beds on Saturday, February 2nd from 9:00 am until noon. All Madison students and families are welcome to attend. It is recommended that you wear old clothes and gloves. If possible, bring a shovel, rake or wheelbarrow, but that is not required to join the fun. We will be putting soil and compost into the garden beds, and installing signs for each classroom's garden area.

If you have any questions, please contact Greg Brogdon at Beach Cities Health District at (310) 515-7911 or e-mail him at phyto2@sbcglobal.net; or contact Lisa Samuelson, PTA Live Well Kids Nutrition Coordinator, at project_track@msn.com.

NOTE: In the event of rain, this event will be rescheduled for Saturday February 9th from 9:00 a.m. to noon.

  
Laying the foundations for our new garden

Monthly Taste-Testing Comes to Madison

There are nine fruit and vegetable taste tests scheduled throughout the year, where the kids have the opportunity to sample new and different foods. As part of the Beach Cities Health District "Live Well" Program, the goal is to encourage healthy eating habits for our children.

Here is the taste test schedule for the year. Taste tests will be conducted during your child's lunchtime.

"Don't Be Dumb, Eat A Plum!"

On Tuesday, October 23rd, all Madison students participated in a taste test during their lunchtime. The response was overwhelmingly positive.

The "pluot" was October's featured item. It is a cross between a plum and an apricot. So many kids asked where they could get these that we are providing the address of where they were purchased:

Fresh Source Produce, located at 401 S. Pacific Coast Highway, Redondo Beach. Tel: 310-543-5588.

Pluots can also be found at farmers markets and some grocery stores.

Help Needed!

Nutrition Education Docents

Parent docents are needed in the classrooms to provide information on healthy eating, and conduct taste tests of healthy food samples.

Five trainings are held during the year, as follows: Oct 11th, Nov 8th, Jan 17th, Feb 21st and Apr 17th.  The training times are 9:00 - 10:00 am for parent volunteers in Grades K-2, and 10:15-11:15 a.m. for Grades 3-5. Training location is at the Beach Cities Health District building located at 514 N. Prospect Ave, Redondo Beach, CA 90277.

For more information, download this flyer about the project: Live Well Kids (PDF Format)

Taste Testing Helpers

Parent helpers are needed to prepare and pass out the food samples during taste tests. Help is needed between the hours of 10:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. on testing days (see above), as taste tests are conducted during your child's lunchtime. Please spare an hour or two to work in the cafeteria preparing the samples - your children will be excited to see you there!

Gardeners

In the near future, we are planning to plant our own garden on the playing field next to the CDC buildings. The garden will be available to all classrooms for a variety of activities and educational opportunities and eventually we hope that future taste tests will include fruits and vegetables grown in our own garden. We need help digging and planting the garden and maintaining it throughout the year.

If you are interested in being a docent or you can help with a taste test or some gardening, please contact Lisa Samuelson at project_track@msn.com or dpchapman@raytheon.com. 

More Information

If you would like more information on this exciting new program, please contact Lisa Samuelson at project_track@msn.com or dpchapman@raytheon.com, or Greg Brogdon (Garden Coordinator, BCHD) at 310-515-7911 or phyto2@sbcglobal.net. Also, look out for the special Nutrition bulletin board in the school, which will have full details of upcoming programs and activities.