‘Eat smart, play hard,’ kids learn during school trip to grocery store
Michael Santos, 9, a fourth-grade student at Lincoln Elementary School in Anaheim, takes part in grocery store yoga at Northgate Market in Anaheim during a field trip on Wednesday, March 15, 2023 Students learned about eating and living healthy. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Children from Lincoln Elementary School in Anaheim got a crash course in nutrition this week, as they roamed the Northgate Grocery store chanting, “Eat smart, play hard!”
Fourth- and fifth-grade students made the school’s annual pilgrimage to the market to learn the importance of eating healthy and exercising. They visited six stations for five minutes each, including the physical activity booth, ironically in the bakery department.
Children from Lincoln Elementary School in Anaheim, learn about healthy foods, including this dragon fruit, during a field trip to Northgate Market in Anaheim
on Wednesday, March 15, 2023. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Luis Regalado, 10, gets congratulated after winning avocado bingo during a field trip to Northgate Market with his fourth-grade class in Anaheim on Wednesday, March 15, 2023. The children from Lincoln Elementary school learned about nutrition and living healthy. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Children from Lincoln Elementary School in Anaheim pick cards to learn about yoga poses during their field trip to Northgate Market on Wednesday, March 15, 2023. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Lincoln Elementary school students learn how to do breathing exercises through yoga during a field trip to Northgate Market on Wednesday, March 15, 2023. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Evelyn Hidalgo, 9, stretches during a 5-minute yoga class at Northgate Market in Anaheim on Wednesday, March 15, 2023. Students from Lincoln Elementary School were on a field trip where they learned about exercise and nutrition. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Students from Lincoln Elementary in Anaheim, leave Northgate Market after a field trip there, chanting, “Eat smart to play hard!” after learning about nutrition and exercise on Wednesday, March 15, 2023. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Michael Santos, 9, a fourth-grade student at Lincoln Elementary School in Anaheim, takes part in grocery store yoga at Northgate Market in Anaheim during a field trip on Wednesday, March 15, 2023 Students learned about eating and living healthy. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)
They learned the five food groups: fruits, vegetables, proteins, grains and dairy.
They played avocado bingo and learned an avocado is actually a fruit.
Each month, as part of Northgate’s Health and Wellness Initiative, several of the company’s 43 Southern California stores partner with community organizations to target a specific chronic disease, said Teresa Blanco, director of community engagement and wellness.
Last month, the market focused on heart health. This month, as part of National Nutrition Month, it hosted the 155 school children. In May, during National Women’s Health month, mammograms will be provided outside selected stores, Blanco said.
Each child was provided a goodie bag with nutritional advice, including a bilingual coloring book with a healthy foods shopping list, and a Frisbee promoting the “Promise to Talk” mental health website.
Fourth-grade teacher Janet Leslie was impressed by her students. “They know a lot more than I thought,” she said. “It makes me think we do a good job at school.”
