April 11, 2023

Spread the Health: 4 Highlights from National Nutrition Month®

By Angela Seibenaller, CACFP Manager

National Nutrition Month® is an annual campaign started by the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics to promote healthy lifestyle choices. Each March, children and adults are invited to learn how to make healthy eating choices and become more active. At Early Learning Academies, our national network of childcare centers participated in nutrition-focused activities geared toward teaching young children about making healthy habits. Some of the most popular activities were fruit and vegetable sorting and scrubbing, visits from a local dentist office, learning about MyPlate, singing songs focused on keeping bodies healthy, and even a Zumba fitness dance class.

Here are some of our favorite moments across the ELA network:

  1. As part of National Nutrition Month, ELA sponsored five centers to start a garden. Over half of the ELA centers submitted the garden grant application to be considered for this opportunity. The Selected centers were provided with a garden kit with all the materials needed to garden with children.
  2. Center cooks were nominated to receive the cook spotlight. Ten centers nominated their cooks who were recognized throughout the ELA community!
  3. The ELA curriculum team developed nutrition-focused curriculum materials to be used in the classrooms. The toddler case study, nutrition book list, top 10 for family style dining, and activity cards were a hit with the children.
  4. Our Little Giants childcare centers in Florida hosted a Fresh Market featuring a vitamin bar, yogurt corner, and a variety of fresh produce. Families, staff, and community members were all invited to join in and try new fruits and vegetables served in different ways.

National Nutrition Month 2023 was a hit across ELA! The children had a blast learning about ways to keep their bodies healthy by participating in health-focused activities. This month also yielded more recipes for our ELA Cookbook, a collection of family-friendly recipes. For more information on National Nutrition Month, check out these resources:

https://www.eatright.org

https://www.eatright.org/health/wellness/awareness-campaigns/50-ideas-to-get-involved-in-national-nutrition-month.