"Comments about our work at Local Matters."

We are in the middle of our second year of "Food is Elementary" being taught to hundreds of Columbus area children. It is difficult to explain how much of an impact our work has made,but let me try. Here are some of the comments that children, parents, teachers and staff have made about changes they have made in their lives regarding food:

"I eat more vegetables so I can be strong. See my muscles?"

"My son is a very picky eater and we have been shocked at how many new foods he has tried. I honestly never even offered them to them, thinking he would refuse. It seems to make a huge difference that he is helping make the food. He loves spending time with me in the kitchen now and our whole family is eating healthier. I used to make a separate meal for the kids, that now I realize was not very healthy. I was raised similarly, with their being "kid food" and "adult food." Now we all eat the same meal and have had fun making it taste and look good."

"I try and eat as many colors as I can every day so I can get taller, but I have to be in the sun to get vitamin D."

"As a teacher, I thought this program was just for the kids. With me being present for all 28 lessons, I am learning too. I used to eat "sometimes foods" (junk food) in front of my students for lunch or snack. I can not do that now. I realize that I am a role model and need to show them that I believe in this too."

"At first I thought that the kids would not try all of the foods, but it is amazing that they will eat everything. They ate several plates of raw greens and asked for more!"

"This whole program has me thinking. I have diabetes and have been overweight for most of my life. I am learning that I can control that by what I eat. I don't diet anymore, because that never worked long term. Now I just walk, drink more water and eat more healthy foods. It's really not been as hard as I thought. My doctor was shocked the last time I went in for a check up!"

These are just some of the comments that we have recieved. They continue to flow in to us and help fuel our work.

Everyone has a right to access healthy foods, but more importantly have the knowledge that food and body are interconnected.

We see positive change happening every day. If you have any comments that you would like to send in, please email Trish@local-matters.org