From the Source: Sana at the Westside Health Authority

Introducing something new from the Chicago Health Corps. We are starting a new series of posts, entitled "From the Source," which will feature a member's writings about a personal service experience during their time in the CHC. Up to this point many of the blog posts have been about our large service projects, trainings, or events, and our everyday service has taken a back seat. Well no longer! Enjoy our "From the Source," posts as they highlight the diverse experiences of our Corps members. This inaugural post comes from Sana Syal, serving at the Westside Health Authority.

Sana teaches students how the nutrients in foods benefit our bodies.

        A large part of my service position involves facilitating nutrition classes in 3 elementary schools and 2 Head Start centers.  With the elementary school sites, we use Seven Generations Ahead’s “Fresh from the Farm” curriculum, in which each lesson is dedicated to a specific fruit or vegetable.  Students learn about how the fruit or vegetable is grown, where it’s grown, and what nutrients they have that benefit our bodies.  One of our first classes was all about squash, including tasting raw squash. Many students hadn’t heard of squash before, and when they saw the raw cubes of butternut squash, many thought it was cheese. To their surprise, they liked the squash, especially the pieces we soaked in apple juice and cinnamon!
            At the Head Start centers, the curriculum we use focuses on food identification and food tasting.  The children have participated in a variety of activities, including “going” to a mock supermarket to pick out healthy foods, creating a fruit clown face, and guessing what fruit or vegetable is inside a mystery bag.
            Being with the students and learning together about healthy food has been an incredibly rewarding experience – their enthusiasm is contagious, and they teach me something new every time I see them!  The students look forward to our classes too, and it’s always nice to hear the kids scream “yes!” whenever we enter the school.

Sana passes around squash to the eager students.

Testing the tasty squash as part of the "Fresh from the Farm" curriculum



Giving blueberries a try.



Tomatoes! Whoa!



Whaddaya know? These kids love squash.



Very carefully tasting the mystery squash.









Sana with Head Start students.







Go Bulls! Go Cucumbers!









Farmer Sydney issues a well-deserved high five



Pondering the melon.







Storytime is the best time



Matt laying down the food knowledge.







Funny fruit clown faces!









Three- and four-year-olds learning about oregano? These kids are going to be food geniuses!