KATENOLA
08-16-2000, 10:25 PM
It was great to see Allison Chin's photo when I flipped through my August issue. Inner City Outings is an important program in many ways. While its main purpose is to provide wilderness experiences to people who would not otherwhise have them, one of the things we do in New Orleans is promote healthy eating habits. No soft drinks or junk food are allowed on trips. That can be hard for a week long camping trip, but, we sometimes do things like chocolate fondue.
There is always a large bowl of fruit to snack on whenever the kids want, and we have introduced them to mangos and kiwi which they love.
To get them to try wholewheat bread, which they wouldn't touch in the beginning, we would bring one or two loaves that they would have to eat when the white ran out. It worked. Now all we have is wholewheat and no one complains.
We always have the kids write about their experiences at the end of outings. It is amazing how often they talk about the food.
A recent poll said that New Orleans is the fattest city in the country. While it's not our priority, we have managed to affect the lives of a group of inner city kids in many ways, including the way they eat.
There is always a large bowl of fruit to snack on whenever the kids want, and we have introduced them to mangos and kiwi which they love.
To get them to try wholewheat bread, which they wouldn't touch in the beginning, we would bring one or two loaves that they would have to eat when the white ran out. It worked. Now all we have is wholewheat and no one complains.
We always have the kids write about their experiences at the end of outings. It is amazing how often they talk about the food.
A recent poll said that New Orleans is the fattest city in the country. While it's not our priority, we have managed to affect the lives of a group of inner city kids in many ways, including the way they eat.