I enjoyed reading Sepia Sharma's commentary on the Optimist's website on healthy living as it relates to the idea of complete communities. This idea was central for the Southlands Community Planning Team and I am excited to see how it all plays out down the road.
Physical health is critical to our well being and so is nutritional health. The fourth annual Food Revolution Day was held last Friday. Participants from every country in the world signed an online petition supporting nutritional health and education in school environments across the globe.
The Jamie Oliver Foundation went big time this year and thousands of participants have shared their programs and stories of major successes in delivering food literacy messages.
As luck would have it, last Friday was a Pro-D day so the Delta school district's participation in Food Rev Day was actually a Food Rev Week. Kids in our district planted hundreds of vegetable seeds.
When kids grow their own food, they eat it. It is a very simple equation. Last Thursday one of the Project Pickle classes enjoyed "BAT" salads (not BLT... bacon, arugula, tomato) outside on the school grounds. They harvested the arugula from their farm, washed it and ate it. Every one of them. I did a calorie and nutritional query and found the healthy lunch had a grand total of 60 calories. The kids burned that off playing in the playground after lunch.
When I am making my rounds in the school district, I often come across kids going for their mandatory runs around school properties and adjoining neighbourhoods. Invariably there is the pack at the end of the group where fitness is a personal challenge.
These kids are to be commended for putting in the effort regardless, but the real life observation of their challenge is depressing to some degree. Most of them appear to be overweight.
I have also seen parents and caregivers delivering lunches to the schools. McDonald's is the most prominent logo I see. There is lots of Subway and other familiar brands as well.
A McDonald's chicken and bacon "wrap" sounds inherently healthy in some way but the reality is you will have to walk the dog for a very long time to burn the 630 calories that comes with it. Families lead busy lives and I fully understand that. Ferrying kids around to sports and other activities can put pressure on everyone.
I have often caved to pleads for drive-thru. There is nothing wrong with a treat now and again but moderation must prevail as incidents of childhood obesity and related illnesses continue to grow. Moderate physical activity and diligence on the nutritional front can help to reverse som e alarming health trends, especially in the younger demographic.
If you have kids, get them to plant some greens this weekend. You don't need a yard or a vegetable garden. A simple planter box will yield salads for the dinner table all year round in our climate. Enjoy!
Mike Schneider is founder of Project Pickle and likes to write about growing, cooking and eating food.
