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"You want foods that are high in fiber that will keep you feeling full for longer," Glick, a wellness dietitian with Lancaster General's healthy weight-management initiative, said. "And fruits, vegetables and whole grains have that."
Glick recently taught the children at Washington Boro Park in Manor Township as part of a two-week nutrition session. The children are part of the Lancaster DigIt!, an urban-farming program for at-risk youths run by the Threshold Foundation.
"The kids grow things all the time with DigIt!," Glick said in an interview before her presentations. "And this nutrition program is here to let them know how they can use what they grow."
Tips Glick shared included telling students to pay attention to the amount of calories in soda and iced tea, where to find organic foods in grocery stores and what sugars are good and bad.
And the information Glick provided sparked some questions from the students.
"Is vitamin C good?" one boy asked.
"Is vitamin water better than regular water?" another asked.
"Vitamin C is always good for you," Glick said. "And vitamin water is OK, too. But a regular vitamin water bottle contains 200 calories. You would be better off drinking regular water with a twist of lemon."Following the discussion, students were given samples of various foods.
Among the samples were a fresh herb vinaigrette recipe, a zesty bean dip with chips, roasted garlic hummus and a creamy herb dip.
"A lot of things that we try here (are) healthy eating while having fun," coordinator Ivonne Lambie said.
Lambie aided Glick during the presentations.
"And hopefully we encourage them to try these foods when they go home."
Some of the students may have thought otherwise.
"I don't know if I like the taste of the stuff we have tried," Nicole Pilgrim, 15, said. "But, at least we know the nutrition part."
Pilgrim is one of 25 children participating in DigIt! this summer. The program, founded by Lancaster City residents Schirlyn Kamara Sabur and her husband, Saheeb, is supported by the Threshold Foundation.
(524) (429) (22) (20) (6) (3) (2) (2) (2) (2) (2)Threshold is comprised of a membership organization with significant financial resources that supports environmental preservation and is dedicated to building the character of inner-city youth.
DigIt! allows children ages 12-17 from Lancaster city to take part in learning how to plant and grow organic foods and how composted food can be recycled into the environment.
The children are able to do so with various parts of land in Lancaster County.
"We have two-thirds of an acre in Lancaster city," Sabur said. "We also have 2 acres on a farm here next to the park, and we own 5 acres of farmland in Salunga."
Along with taking care of the parcels of land, the children also learn how they can grow organic foods in their own backyard, and how to eat healthier.
"I've lived in the city for most of my life," Sabur said. "I remember as a child when farmers used to come in the city and sell food. They don't do that anymore."
Sabur said the program had tried to incorporate nutrition education sessions in the past.
"We did that for the past three or four years," Sabur said. "It wasn't much, but then we found out about the healthy living programs that Lancaster General has, so I looked into it."
This is the first year Lancaster General has taken part in providing education to DigIt! students with its healthy weight-management initiative, Lambie said.
The initiative promotes healthy living by working on wellness programs not only with Lancaster General's own employees but also with local companies, school districts and health-care providers.
Glick is involved with that effort. "I do a variety of things through our wellness program," she said. "I present programs throughout the community on healthy eating habits. I also work with the LGH food program and I spend time in the cafeteria at the hospital educating people on what they eat."
And for the children that took part in her recent nutrition sessions, Glick's messages seemed to have an impact.
"I've been telling my family about organic foods," Sheily Ann Sanchez, 15, said. "Just on where to buy them and how good they are for you, instead of junk food."
Another student does the same.
"I tell my mom about the nutrition of foods when she goes to the grocery store," Stefon Landing, 13, said.
E-mail: jwalk@lnpnews.com
