The Health Hut: A Step toward Healthy Eating in Schools and Promoting Health Literacy!

by written by Brent Bradford, Clive Hickson, & Ashleigh Evaniew, University of Alberta

When health and physical educators strive to teach students about active, healthy living, it becomes troublesome when there are unhealthy alternatives confronting them as they leave the school building. For example, what messages are students receiving if they can leave the gymnasium and at lunch time walk across the road to stores to purchase unhealthy food choices such as soda, chips and candy?

As schools move to become health-promoting environments and develop health literacy in students, it's important to give students the knowledge of how to live healthy lifestyles. For years, vending machines have been placed in schools, perhaps even placed strategically in schools, so that students are sure to walk by them and be tempted to buy something. Similarly, stores often place snacks close to the checkout counters hoping that customers will be tempted to buy them, and food establishments often ask if customers want to add another food item to their order. These business style tactics to encourage purchasing can lead to unhealthy food choices or overeating.

The issue of vending machines, school concessions, fast food establishments, corner stores, prepackaged food items, etc. have been discussed and debated for some time. In this article, we'll introduce you to an innovative and practical strategy aimed to help educate students and school communities on healthy food choices and support their health literacy.

The Health Hut

Schools can create "Health Huts" in designated areas or in unused rooms and have staff, students, or family volunteers offer healthy foods and drink choices for purchase. The Health Hut could be open for students between classes, at recesses, during lunchtime, and even at the end of the school day. Although organizing a Health Hut takes extra effort on the part of staff and other volunteer assistants, it's a great way to encourage students to make healthy eating choices.

Additionally, Health Huts can include motivating components that offer the school community opportunities to become more nutritionally educated and health literate! Here's a sample:

Health Hut Components

The Morning Boost Program: The Health Hut could have a range of hot and/or cold breakfast options for students prior to the morning bell. At times, students arrive at school without having eaten breakfast. The "Morning Boost Program" would be a healthy start to the morning for students and also prepare them for a day of learning. Community businesses may also be more than happy to donate to healthy initiatives such as the Health Hut's Morning Boost Program.

The Lunch Boost Program: On a daily basis or on specific days of the week the Health Hut could have a range of lunch options for students. Similar to the "Morning Boost Program," it could help to sustain students through the rest of the day.

The Principal's Healthy Pick of the Day: Health and physical educators need to involve school principals and the rest of the school community in an initiative like the Health Hut. The advocacy and support of school leaders toward this initiative would be beneficial on many levels. As part of the Morning Boost or Lunch Program, the school principal and other school leaders could select a healthy food item, eat with the students, and share their "Healthy Pick of the Day" (e.g., bowl of cereal with milk, fruit bar, sandwich, bottle of water, etc.) through school-wide announcements. "Healthy Picks" are an excellent way to include the school leadership in the initiative and also to role model daily healthy eating.

The Drink Corner: The Health Hut could include a "Drink Corner" that offers a variety of healthy juices and bottles of water. These selections would be a healthy alternative to sodas that are so readily available for purchase in stores. On display at the Drink Corner could be a bulletin board that indicates the amount of calories in the drinks available and also makes comparisons with unhealthy drinks. Such information can act as a teaching tool, helping students to learn what makes a drink healthy or unhealthy (e.g., calories, sugar, amount, etc.).

End of the Day Fruit Boost: At the end of the day, the Health Hut could re-open to allow students to pick a piece of fruit as they head into the evening hours. The "End of the Day Fruit Boost" can help replace those constant streams of chips purchased at the local convenience store by hungry students at the end of the school day!

The Health Hut is a practical way to assist students in developing "Healthy Hearts" as it positively impacts their eating habits throughout the school day.

In addition to the Healthy Hut, an extension of student learning can continue into the classroom through a second initiative named "Healthy Minutes" time.

Healthy Minutes - Classroom Discussions

One day per week (e.g., 10-15 minutes in the morning) could be designated for a Healthy Minutes discussion in each classroom. During this time, teachers provide students with opportunities to share what healthy food choices they chose during the past week. This gives students opportunities to teach others about healthy eating. For example, the teacher can pose questions such as "How did your food choices relate to the Food Guide Pyramid?" Or perhaps have students keep a calorie count over a set period of time and then ask them to explain how their choices benefited their overall health.

An effective addition to the Healthy Minutes could be the inclusion of a daily or weekly Health Logbook so that students can record their food choices together with their personal activity levels. Such a record can help students monitor and reflect upon their choices, progressions, feelings, learning, etc.

Healthy Eating Education (Newsletters)

To support student learning and understanding of health literacy, health and physical educators should strive to educate the school community whenever opportunities arise. Monthly newsletters or e-letters are one such opportunity to educate families and school community members by including information about the benefits of healthy eating so that they are not enticed by "Two can dine for $9.99" offerings. For example, newsletters can include some of the following: tips on how to budget healthy menus; balanced diet ideas; caloric intake information; healthy servings; understanding the Food Guide Pyramid; and healthy snack recipes. This information supports the learning of important material outside the classroom while sending active, healthy messages to students.

Conclusion

If helping students to develop "Healthy Hearts" is an important goal for health and physical educators, it's important that we provide healthy food choices in school buildings. Consider creating a Health Hut in your school to help your students (and perhaps staff) develop healthy eating habits. Including the principal, teachers, staff members, students, families, and school community members may be just what it takes to help construct a health promoting school culture that stresses the importance and awareness of healthy eating and developing health literacy.

Biographies:

Brent Bradford, a Doctoral (PhD) Candidate at the University of Alberta, has worked as a Physical Education Teacher Educator for the past five years. In 2011, he was selected as the Faculty of Education's Graduate Student Teaching Award recipient. Brent spent 10 years teaching and coaching with the Edmonton Catholic School Division in both the elementary and junior high school environment prior to returning to the University. Brent can be reached at bdb3@ualberta.ca.

Clive Hickson: A regular pelinks4u contributor. Please read his biography on the pelinks4u 'contributors' page.

Ashleigh Evaniew, M.Ed. is currently a school teacher specializing in elementary physical education in Edmonton, Alberta. Her teaching experience ranges from early childhood education to instructing at the post secondary level. In 2012, she received the Faculty of Education’s Graduate Teaching Award from the University of Alberta. She can be contacted at aevaniew@ualberta.ca.

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