Vitamin songs, myPlate, and mindful eating
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“I talked to my mom and my dad about vitamins. I talked about the song that Mr. Eli taught us: 'A and C, B and E, vitamin K...' then I added on, ‘saves the day!’”
Every Tuesday, Madame Foley’s second grade class at Ecole Kenwood welcomes Local Matters’ Food Matters team for their lesson in food, nutrition, cooking, and culture.One student in Madame Foley’s class is especially excited each Tuesday – Haven Scott loves Food Matters.
When seven-year old Haven tells his mom, Grace, about what he’s learning with Food Matters, he spares no detail. “[In Food Matters] we talk about food groups, vitamins. Now we’re talking about the heart and stuff. And what bad food and good food does to you. For example, some bad fats kind of clog up the veins in your hands. But if you run a lot and eat healthy fats, your veins could get unclogged.”
After a lesson in nutrition, Haven tells his mom about mindful eating: “First, we eat with our eyes. Then we eat with our nose. Then we eat with our mouth and our ears at the same time and hear what it sounds like when we chew the food. I like eating with all the senses a lot of the time but not all the time. Like with ice cream, I just want to eat the ice cream.”
When asked what he thinks all kids in Columbus should learn about food, Haven thought about all that he has learned with Food Matters. Then, he decided: “Well, at the least they should know about myPlate and the different food groups; maybe what the different vitamins give you – like vitamin d mostly comes from the sun and K comes from green vegetables.” We agree – every student has the right to a robust education about food and nutrition.
For Grace, Haven's mom, Food Matters has changed the way their family talks about food: “Food Matters has completely changed Haven’s appreciation and understanding of food...To have knowledge to critically think about food and what we eat and what it does for our bodies, and have a space to do that has been awesome. It’s helped us to have some really good conversations about food.”