How to make nutrition fun

Although they made yuck faces at the thought of putting sliced cucumbers and sprigs of mint leaves into their own personal batches of naturally flavored water, the two groups of elementary students participating in the nutritional activity, led by two juniors from Grinnell College, still loaded their cups with the fresh produce.

Surprisingly enough, those same kiddos who at first scrunched their noses and stuck their tongues out in disgust would later try their drinks and exclaim: "That tasted really good!"

For many students this was likely their first time trying water that had been naturally flavored by the likes of strawberries, blueberries, cucumbers, lemons, limes, basil and mint leaf. Each ingredient was freshly prepared minutes before the activity began in the Emerson Hough Elementary School cafeteria.

Both groups of children were given the choice of which fruits to include or not include in their drinks. A majority enjoyed their flavored waters and had begun picking out the remaining fruit after finishing their drinks.

Even if some kids didn’t like the end result, the Fun with Food program leaders and college students Nicky Midlash and Aru Fatehpuria are happy with the results.

At least these kids tried something new, they reasoned.

For the past four weeks, the Grinnell College psychology majors have been working with summer school students as part of the Newton Community Health Partnership, a Rockefeller Foundation-funded and research-focused initiative to promote healthy living throughout town.

Teams of students, faculty and staff from the University of Iowa and Grinnell College are working with local Newton Community Health Partnership stakeholders — such as the Newton Community School District — to collect data and better implement permanent changes.

Midlash and Fatehpuria, for example, regularly organize interactive and educational exercises with elementary school students two days a week. Newton youngsters have been introduced to new fruits and vegetables, met local farmers and have even begun growing their own snap peas, which are positioned on the windowsills in the cafeteria.

Derek Bair, the summer school principal, said there are about 45 students participating in the program. Interacting with farmers and finding out where their foods come from, he added, has turned into valuable learning experiences for the kids.

“And they can get their hands on some fresh fruits and vegetables to kind of expand their knowledge and their taste,” Bair said, noting he was also introduced to new foods through the program. “That was the first time I’ve had a turnip and I’m 31 years old. It’s just all about recognizing these things and knowing they’re good to eat.”

In addition to facilitating activities, the two juniors are gathering other food data. To avoid compromising the results of the study, Fatehpuria has asked the Newton Daily News to not reveal the exact method for the research project. However, Midlash did say the overall goal of the research is to collect data for fruit and vegetable consumption.

If the Fun with Food program works, Midlash said it could be applied to other elementary schools. Depending on the data results, kids’ exposure to the program’s activities teaching them about locally sourced food may increase their interests in eating more fresh fruits and vegetables.

Students, he added, are very involved with the process. Their enthusiastic involvement and willingness to educate themselves — whether they know it or not — may be the most important aspect to the study. Fatehpuria said there are also at-home activities students are sent with to continue their habits outside of summer school.

On Wednesday, kids were sent home with a cartoon picture of a rainbow they adorned with stickers of fruits and veggies corresponding to the colors featured on the vibrant arches — tomatoes and strawberries were placed on red, broccoli and peas placed on green, bananas and corn placed on yellow and so on.

At home, they were instructed to take their extra stickers to keep track of how often they eat those fruits and vegetables. Seeing their excitement makes the program even more fun for Midlash and Fatehpuria.

“They seem to be engaged,” Fatehpuria said. “The teachers are also really encouraging them to be engaged, even if they’re quieter. We try and focus on incorporating a lot of hands-on activities where they are doing things because trying to get them to be self-efficient in making their food decisions is also something we want to do.”

Contact Christopher Braunschweig at 641-792-3121 ext. 6560 or cbraunschweig@newtondailynews.com