G.N.A.W.

Education


Challenge
Create an educational program that would positively impact the lives of children from underprivileged backgrounds, aged 7-13.

Impact
We designed a kid-friendly holistic nutrition workshop with a focus on practical habit development. This created a new relationship between USC, the Violence Intervention Program, and the Los Angeles Wellness center, kick-starting an ongoing series of wellness workshops.

Role
Led the event research and planning committee and maintained vendor relationships.

Research strategy
My role in the USC Health Science Mentors was to develop enriching programs for our participating mentor/mentees. Mentors had observed poor eating habits and a general lack of nutrition awareness while out with their mentees, so I created the General Nutrition Awareness Workshop (GNAW).


Through interacting with the kids, we learned that the most effective activities are hands-on and have tangible outcomes. So, we employed a farm-to-table approach, taking the kids from the garden to the kitchen. To inspire excitement and provide a sense of ownership, kids tasted herbs directly from the garden and planted their own edible seedlings. Realizing that most of the mentees come from low-income households, we researched grocery prices and purchased affordable ingredients from local grocery stores. We brought in a community nutrition expert and learned how to hygienically prepare a meal, properly chop vegetables, and safely cook on the stove top. Communications around the event were in line with the event message: simple and fresh - plant, grow, cook.



Flyer for the event