March 3, 2005
National Nutrition Month highlights Purdue healthy food options
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – March is National Nutrition Month, and Purdue University Residences and the Student Wellness Office are partnering to focus on healthy eating habits with a monthlong series of programs.
The activities coincide with a recent change in the federal government's nutrition guidelines and are designed to educate students about the wide variety of choices they have when it comes to healthy eating, said Mary Ann Prah, chairperson for University Residences' National Nutrition Month activities.
Each week University Residences will feature a different group of healthy foods at one of the university's dining courts. In addition to serving the foods, students will learn about the foods' health benefits and ways to incorporate them into their daily eating routine.
The schedule for foods to be featured at dining courts include:
• March 1-6 – Earhart Dining Court will feature whole grains and diary products.
• March 7-13 – Hillenbrand Dining Court will highlight fruits and vegetables with "A Rainbow of Colors," focusing on a different bright color of food each day and the nutrients that the color indicates.
• March 14-20 – Ford Dining Court will feature lean protein.
• March 21-27 – Wood Hall's On the Go! and residence hall retail locations will spotlight healthy snacks.
Other halls also will feature various activities throughout the month.
"The residence halls offer a wide variety of healthy choices – full salad bars, whole-grain cereals and dairy items, fresh fruit, lean meats and many others," said Prah, who also is training coordinator for University Residences' dining services. "This will just allow us to highlight some of those choices and help educate students about the specific health benefits of each. If we can help them to eat healthy now, there is a greater chance they will continue healthy habits as they get older."
The Student Wellness Office will sponsor the Wheel of Nutrition, an interactive game, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. each Tuesday at that week's featured dining facility. In addition, a quiz game and other daily activities will be used to stimulate interest in nutrition. Participants' names will be entered into a drawing for several prizes, including five $50 gift certificates to Wal-Mart, coolers, hats and T-shirts.
The Student Wellness Office also is offering downloadable nutrition bulletin board kits, titled "Balance Your Choices," online.
"We are encouraging students, staff, K-12 schools and anyone else in the community to take advantage of the offer," said Sue Abney, dietician for the Student Wellness Office. "The kit gives a highly visual way of understanding and remembering the new suggested dietary guidelines and will help both children and adults improve their nutrition habits."
The new nutritional guidelines replaced the traditional food pyramid with a more comprehensive set of recommendations, including suggestions on caloric intake, exercise and food choice.
Writer: Matt Holsapple, (765) 494-2073, mholsapple@purdue.edu
Sources: Mary Ann Prah, (765) 494-2515, maprah@purdue.edu
Sue Abney, (765) 494-1716, nsabney@purdue.edu
Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu
Related Web site:
Purdue Student Wellness Center
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