Snack Science Continues This Spring

HealthStart trained Boys and Girls Club of Georgetown (BGCG) staff this past fall so that they could integrate HealthStart’s Snack Science Children’s Health Education Workshop Series (CHEWS) into their after school programming. The first Snack Science series was implemented with 6-7 year old students. 

The kids who participated in the first Snack Science workshops liked it so much that they asked to do it again in Spring.  Their teacher told us that she found the program easy to implement and the activities to be fun and engaging for her students. ​
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BGCG staff led 5 workshops, 1 for each body system: brain, bones, circulatory system, muscles, and digestion. During each workshop, students prepared a snack to feed the part of the body they had learned about. HealthStart staff helped BGCG throw a party at the end of the series to celebrate the student’s “graduation.” Party goers played “Brainfood Bingo” and competed for prizes and made Brain Burritos.  

Impacts

We thoroughly enjoyed working with both the kids and the staff of the BGCG and found that together we were able to make a meaningful impact on the children participating.  

​ The children tried a variety of fresh and healthy foods. The 6 snacks they made contained 24 different foods. Over ¾ of the students tried at least 1 new food and ALL of them tried foods prepared in new ways during their Snack Science adventure.

​ Often when the students tried a familiar food that was prepared in a new or novel way, they like it. On average, 85% of children liked the snack they prepared.

​​​ We were thrilled to hear from BGCG staff that the kids who participated in the workshops last semester are still asking about them months later.

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​The BGCG staff recently kicked off the second series of CHEWS workshops, letting a whole new group of kiddos in on the fun!

​If your organization is interested in learning more about implementing Snack Science in your after school or summer program, please contact Sharon Burley at sharon@healthstartfoundation.org. ​