- Author: Hannah Lee
Over the past few months, UC CalFresh's garden group has teamed up with the wonderful staff and faculty at Ayer Elementary to launch the Ayer Garden Project. This project will give students and their parents, as well as Ayer teachers, the opportunity to garden together and build a healthier community. On Tuesday, May 23rd, the UC CalFresh garden group hosted Adopt-a-Bed, where teachers had a chance to "adopt" one of the garden beds that have been sitting unused for the past few years. The collective vision is that students, parents, Ayer staff, and the surrounding community will find joy, health, and a whole wealth of knowledge in the garden next year.
UC CalFresh garden team members Nancy, Hannah, and Kristi are ready to share the joy of gardening with teachers!
Hannah discusses garden logistics with the enthusiastic kindergarten team.
"Orange you tired of not having a garden?"
Ayer's lead Nutrition Educator, Hannah, is excited to see how the garden grows next year! Be sure to stay tuned and check back in the fall for more Ayer Garden Project updates!
- Author: Hannah Lee
The wonderful staff at Ayer Elementary School invited the UC CalFresh team to be part of the fun at their Spring Carnival! Schools hold so many wonderful events throughout the year, and this carnival was a great opportunity to add some nutrition education and physical activity to the fun!
We set up a colorful and interactive booth so parents, students, and Ayer staff could learn more about eating healthy and staying active.
This student planned a delicious, balanced meal with UC CalFresh Nutrition Educator Hannah, using a MyPlate and food models.
Nutrition Educator Elizabeth helped students sort food models into MyPlate hula hoops. The kids got quite a kick out of running back and forth, and teaching each other what food group the models belonged to.
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Over 100 students and parents came to visit us and learn more about healthy eating and staying active. To learn more for yourself, check out ChooseMyPlate.gov and keep an eye out for UC CalFresh at events near you!
- Author: Hannah Lee
- Contributor: Emily Harris
In January, Ayer students started their Food Friday Campaign with the goal of eating more fruits and veggies. A total of 559 servings of fruits and veggies were eaten during the four Food Fridays - way to go, Ayer Bears! Congratulations to Mrs. Lee's first grade class for having the largest increase of fruits and veggie consumption over the four weeks! Her class ate almost twice as many fruits and vegetables on the last Food Friday in comparison to the first.
To celebrate Ayer students' hard work with Food Friday, UC CalFresh hosted a MyPlate obstacle course! Check out all of the fun below!
UC CalFresh team members Chris, Hannah, Austin, and Maira, Fresno State Dietetic Intern Alicia and NFCS Advisor Mandeep, couldn't be more excited!
Austin shows kiddos the Fruit Hoops.
Chris the Carrot leads the way across the field.
Students stretch their arms with Hannah.
Maira provides some push-up motivation for these strong students!
Thank you to everyone at Ayer Elementary for helping us put on this wonderful event! Students had a great time and were reminded to get at least 60 minutes of physical activity every day.
- Author: Hannah Lee
Last week Ayer Elementary School kicked off their four week Food Friday campaign, which encourages students to eat the fruits and vegetables provided in the school lunch. Now through February 17th, classes enrolled in the UC CalFresh Nutrition Education Program will be counting how many students eat their fruits and vegetables, and tracking it using the cafeteria's new Nutrition Corner poster pictured below.
Check out UC CalFresh team members Brittanny, Emily, and Hannah with Ayer's new cafeteria Nutrition Corner! It shows how many students ate their fruits and vegetables, the benefits of eating those foods, and what will be in the school lunch on Food Fridays.
Brittanny and Hannah passing out kiwis - yum!
A total of 215 students ate their fruits and vegetables on the first Food Friday! They're off to a great start and hopefully those numbers will continue to go up! Be sure to check back for updates on Ayer's Food Friday!
- Author: Hannah Lee
Thanksgiving is upon us, and the holiday season is in full swing! To prepare for the fun festivities ahead, Ayer and Storey Elementary Schools received Nutrition Corners with the theme, "Healthy Celebrations." Because children spend so much time at school, it's important to remind them of healthy choices, no matter the time of year. Ayer and Storey's Nutrition Corners encourage teachers to celebrate class milestones and holidays while promoting a culture of wellness. And of course, the Nutrition Corners wouldn't be complete without a reminder to use MyPlate to guide our meals.
