Students at Westdale Heights Academic Magnet School pose with dignitaries including Baton Rouge Mayor Kip Holden, (back row, third from right) with some of the 900 pounds of food that were collected as part of National Food Day Oct. 24. (Photo by Craig Gautreaux. Click on photo for downloadable image.)

News Release Distributed 10/25/11

BATON ROUGE, La. – In an effort to promote healthful eating habits and to provide food for those struggling in poverty, students at Westdale Heights Academic Magnet School learned about making the right choices related to food selections and conducted a food drive for the Baton Rouge Food Bank.

As part of National Food Day, students toured the Body Walk, an exhibit that features different parts of the body and how they are influenced by the foods we eat. “Today’s event is about awareness of the foods we consume. We want to make children aware the choices they make affect their health,” Sharman Charles, LSU AgCenter family and consumer science agent, said.

Charles said there was an emphasis during the food drive in collecting more healthful foods. “We focused on foods that were 100 percent whole grain, no salt added and 100 percent juice products. Between the six participating schools more than 900 pounds of food were collected.”

For Mike Manning, director of the Baton Rouge Food Bank, the food collected helps fill a void. “We are in a perfect storm, so to s

Students at Westdale Heights Academic Magnet School tour the mouth portion of the LSU AgCenter’s Body Walk exhibit as part of the activities on National Food Day Oct. 24. (Photo by Craig Gautreaux. Click on photo for downloadable image.)

peak. We have increased demand and decreased supply, and it’s imperative to have these types of events.”

Baton Rouge Mayor Kip Holden supports the effort because it fits well with his Mayor’s Healthy City Initiative. “We need to make sure we address issues such as childhood obesity and poverty, and we need to start with young people,” Holden said.

Emily Patrick, a project coordinator for the Mayor’s Healthy City Initiative, said it is important to make an effort in improving one’s physical health. “It’s not so important in how much you can do, but if you can get up and move around and exercise that you do it as often as you can,” she said.

Like many states across the country, Louisiana has room for improvement regarding a healthy lifestyle. According to Healthy BR, Louisiana ranks first in both diabetes death rate and non-exercising population and fourth in obesity.

Efforts are under way to change the habits of Louisiana citizens. LSU AgCenter Regional Director Bobby Fletcher, said the AgCenter is making an effort to get information out to the public through schools across the state. “We are taking research-based information and educating the students about the importance of appropriate diets, portion sizes and exercise through exhibits like the Body Walk and lessons that increase awareness in these areas,” Fletcher said.

Other Baton Rouge-area elementary schools that participated in the food drive included Lanier, Progress, Villa del Rey, Bernard Terrace and Northwestern in Zachary.

Craig Gautreaux