Senior Phil Habegger talks with a patient at the Great Physician Clinic. The clinic allowed students in the Health Science Club to shadow doctors and even perform minor medical procedures. Janae Callicoat Sophomore Cana Moore learns about eating right at a fruit tasting sponsored by SAND in the cafeteria on March 13. Members of the Student Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics gave away samples of exotic fruits such as star fruit, passion fruit, kumquats and dragon fruit. Virginia "Vivi" Vitalone INITIATIVE SAND PROMOTES A BALANCED DIET Students often found it difficult to maintain healthy diets while in college due to inconsistent schedules and limited food options. It did not help that a McDonald's cheeseburger cost only a fraction of the price of a package of salad or fruit from the grocery store. Because of that, many students started bad habits of eating late at night or only eating processed, sugary foods. Those habits were difficult to shake. The Student Association of Nutrition and Dietetics wanted to provide an event that would introduce students to unusual fruits and vegetables. Their goal was to show students that healthy foods did not have to be intimidating and that they tasted as good or better than what they were used to eating. They chose to do this event in March, which was National Nutrition Month. Assistant Professor of Family Consumer Sciences and Director of Dietetics Dr. Lisa Ritchie hoped at least a few students would start consistently eating healthier. Judy Hart, the food service director of Aramark, approached Ritchie with the idea of doing something that would get the students interested in good nutrition. The idea to do the taste testing grew from there. When Hart heard the organization's idea, she quickly partnered with them in working to get the fruits and vegetables. Aramark employees ordered the fruits and vegetables for the event, while members of SAND prepared it all to be handed out in the cafeteria. Vice president of SAND senior Ashleigh Arthurs helped with the event because she wanted to help other students understand the importance of eating healthy and developing good eating habits. "This is the first time in our lives, for most people, that no one has bought our food for us and just told us, 'Okay, this is your only option,"' Arthurs said. "People are making decisions on their own, so if we can... show them that fruits and vegetables need to be a common thing in their diet, we can help develop better habits for later in life." SAND offered snow peas, jicama, kiwi and star fruit during the taste-testing day. Ritchie said the purpose of using some more exotic fruits and vegetableslike the jicama was to increase familiarity with different fruits and vegetables. President of SAND senior Madison Love added that the people could be intimidated by unfamiliar fruits and vegetables. " Fruits and veggies, even if you don't know what they are, don't have to be scary," Love added. "I think people were surprised that they liked them. Some people hadn't heard of a star fruit before or jicama before, but there's stuff at the store you can get that's different, and it's good." The organization also ran a similar program in the Searcy School District's elementary schools. Each week the schools featured a fruit or vegetable, and the teachers integrated lessons about that particular food into their lesson plans. On Friday, the students were able to taste it. Harding students created an information sheet each week with additional information about the featured fruit or vegetable for the elementary students. The fruit tasting sessions on campus and in the elementary schools were one way that SAND students practiced the things they learned in their classes and encourage healthy lifestyles. Kristin Baldwin
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