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| Eating SmART |
Thanks to the generous support of our funders, we at Sierra
Dove were able to provide weekly take-home food, daily
healthy snacks, nutritional guidance lessons, movement and
music lessons, a community gardening experience, and art
enrichment programming for 225 youth who attended Eating
Smart this summer. The eleven-week program took place at
two locations of the Mescalero Apache Boys and Girls Club.
This is a much needed program in our state because in New
Mexico, one in every four children go to bed hungry. Food
insecurity is especially high during the summer months, when
children do not have access to the free/reduced USDA
breakfast and lunch that are offered during the school year.
Dove were able to provide weekly take-home food, daily
healthy snacks, nutritional guidance lessons, movement and
music lessons, a community gardening experience, and art
enrichment programming for 225 youth who attended Eating
Smart this summer. The eleven-week program took place at
two locations of the Mescalero Apache Boys and Girls Club.
This is a much needed program in our state because in New
Mexico, one in every four children go to bed hungry. Food
insecurity is especially high during the summer months, when
children do not have access to the free/reduced USDA
breakfast and lunch that are offered during the school year.
| Nutritional Guidance through the Arts |
| One of our main objectives is to provide fresh, wholesome snacks and nutritional guidance lessons, which empower children to make healthier food choices. |
| The children received wholesome snacks each day, such as fresh apple and celery slices with peanut butter, grapes, yogurt, and granola. |
Our Vision for Eating SmART
| Eating SmART Staff Training |
| Our vision is to expand the Eating SmART program to include eight new sites in high needs areas of the state by the summer of 2010, raising the number of youth served through ES to 1,200 school-age children within the coming year. We will focus first on establishing new sites in our home territory of Lincoln and Otero Counties and in the Albuquerque area. |
In May, 2009, Julia Price and Patsy Blasdell conducted the first Eating
Smart staff training for twelve staff members of the Mescalero Boys and
Girls Club. The training insures that they will be able to assist in a more
hands-on way with the nutritional guidance lessons, art, music, and other
aspects of the program. They also had the chance to create some of the art
projects that the children experience during the summer, like making a Whole
Food Color Wheel of healthy food options.
A twelve-week Eating SmART Curriculum and Instructors’ Manual for Pre-K
through Grade 6, written by Julia Price, is available as a part of the
training. The curriculum can be used to implement a summer or after-school
nutritional guidance program, or it can be integrated into a language arts
curriculum offered during regular school hours.
If you are interested in arranging an Eating Smart training for their school
or youth club, or in learning more about Eating SmART, please contact Julia
Price, Eating SmART Program Director, by calling 575-336-1933 or by
emailing julia@sierradove.org
Smart staff training for twelve staff members of the Mescalero Boys and
Girls Club. The training insures that they will be able to assist in a more
hands-on way with the nutritional guidance lessons, art, music, and other
aspects of the program. They also had the chance to create some of the art
projects that the children experience during the summer, like making a Whole
Food Color Wheel of healthy food options.
A twelve-week Eating SmART Curriculum and Instructors’ Manual for Pre-K
through Grade 6, written by Julia Price, is available as a part of the
training. The curriculum can be used to implement a summer or after-school
nutritional guidance program, or it can be integrated into a language arts
curriculum offered during regular school hours.
If you are interested in arranging an Eating Smart training for their school
or youth club, or in learning more about Eating SmART, please contact Julia
Price, Eating SmART Program Director, by calling 575-336-1933 or by
emailing julia@sierradove.org
The Garden Project
The community garden, which we build
together throughout the spring and
summer, teaches sustainable living and
the growth and nurturing of edible
plants. The garden brings the nutritional
concepts to life and becomes an
additional food source for the kids and
their families. The garden project also
increases environmental awareness and
provides opportunities to hone math,
science, and language arts skills.
together throughout the spring and
summer, teaches sustainable living and
the growth and nurturing of edible
plants. The garden brings the nutritional
concepts to life and becomes an
additional food source for the kids and
their families. The garden project also
increases environmental awareness and
provides opportunities to hone math,
science, and language arts skills.
We implement the garden project in a number of different ways suitable to each
location, with projects ranging from container gardening to raised beds and grow
boxes. At the BGC Main Unit in 2009, the children helped design a Three Sisters
Garden using native seeds, a Pizza Garden, and a Sunflower House. At the Carrizo Unit,
we built a garden in grow boxes with greenhouse lids donated by Veggie Grower.
Many of the aspects of our program, such as the garden project and nutritional
guidance lessons, have been incorporated as best practices for the 46 sites operated
by the NM Collaboration to End Hunger around the state.
location, with projects ranging from container gardening to raised beds and grow
boxes. At the BGC Main Unit in 2009, the children helped design a Three Sisters
Garden using native seeds, a Pizza Garden, and a Sunflower House. At the Carrizo Unit,
we built a garden in grow boxes with greenhouse lids donated by Veggie Grower.
Many of the aspects of our program, such as the garden project and nutritional
guidance lessons, have been incorporated as best practices for the 46 sites operated
by the NM Collaboration to End Hunger around the state.
Sierra Dove has received both state and national awards for Eating SmART,
including a gold level award from FRAC in Washington, D.C. Our program has been
given the honor of serving as a model for best practices in summer food programming
by the New Mexico Collaboration to End Hunger.
Sierra Dove and Mescalero Boys and Girls Club
set to receive a Gold Level Award of Excellence
Dianne Stallings dstallings@ruidosonews.com
Article Launched: 06/17/2008 08:11:17 PM MDT
The Mescalero Apache Boys and Girls Club, in partnership with Sierra Dove Global
Association, will receive a "Gold Level" Award of Excellence Tuesday.
The award comes from the Washington, D.C. - based Food Research and Action
Center that created the awards initiative in 2006.
Through the award program, FRAC recognizes superior standards at summer food
sites throughout the country. FRAC has identified three levels of quality summer
food sites: bronze, silver and gold. The Mescalero Apache Boys and Girls Club will be
the first Gold Award presented in New Mexico.
including a gold level award from FRAC in Washington, D.C. Our program has been
given the honor of serving as a model for best practices in summer food programming
by the New Mexico Collaboration to End Hunger.
Sierra Dove and Mescalero Boys and Girls Club
set to receive a Gold Level Award of Excellence
Dianne Stallings dstallings@ruidosonews.com
Article Launched: 06/17/2008 08:11:17 PM MDT
The Mescalero Apache Boys and Girls Club, in partnership with Sierra Dove Global
Association, will receive a "Gold Level" Award of Excellence Tuesday.
The award comes from the Washington, D.C. - based Food Research and Action
Center that created the awards initiative in 2006.
Through the award program, FRAC recognizes superior standards at summer food
sites throughout the country. FRAC has identified three levels of quality summer
food sites: bronze, silver and gold. The Mescalero Apache Boys and Girls Club will be
the first Gold Award presented in New Mexico.
| The Awards ceremony is set for 11 a.m., Tuesday, at the Mescalero Community Center. Awards will be given to Robyn Simmons, Director of the Mescalero Apache Boys and Girls Club, and to Julia Price, Director of Sierra Dove and the Eating Smart summer food program, on behalf of their organizations. Members of the hunger advocacy organization selected the Mescalero Boys and Girls Club and Sierra Dove, a local nonprofit agency, for their highest level of award, because (program organizers), "have gone above and beyond the call of duty to encourage children to participate in their summer food program and have offered quality sites, nutritional guidance and healthy, kid-friendly food." said Crystal Fitzsimmons, FRAC Programs Manager for New Mexico. Sierra Dove Given Tier 2 CCF Award for ES In March 2009, Sierra Dove received a federal capacity building grant, with funding and technical assistance allocated through Help New Mexico. The funds have been used to strengthen our organization in the areas of community engagement and program development for Eating Smart. The CCF grant will allow us to create an instructor’s manual and training program around Eating Smart, and to film and document all of the creative activities that go on this summer as a part of the manual. We will also be able to develop new community engagement materials, including power point presentations, brochures, website updates, and a newsletter. Sierra Dove Partners with the NM Collaboration to End Hunger and Community Helpers for Summer Food Distribution Thanks to the generous support of the NM Collaboration to End Hunger and private funders, we were able to provide take-home food, snacks, nutritional guidance lessons, and art enrichment programming for the youth who have attended Eating Smart for the past three summers. |
Visiting artist Gary Henry guides members of the Mescalero BGC in Pottery Making
| Community Support for Eating SmART |
| The Ruidoso Lions’ Club and Optimists Club, Eco-Servants, the Lincoln County Arts Council, the Lincoln County Garden Club, Compass Bank, the ENMU Phys Ed Department, the Boys and Girls Club, the Alamogordo Elks Club, and Walmart, along with many individual donors, are generous supporters and volunteers for Eating SmART. |
| A highlight of the program for the kids every summer is the caving expedition at Fort Stanton, provided by Sierra Dove in partnership with Eco-Servants. |
