Family and Community Engagement through Health and Wellness
NHA Wellness Program
NHA Wellness Committee Mission Statement
Our mission is to encourage the life balance and participation of our
employees, families and communities to achieve optimal wellness through education, raised awareness, healthy
choices and activities.
Why should Head Start Programs Promote Wellness?
• Motivate co-workers, parents, and children to engage in exercise
• Raise awareness and education about health & nutrition
• Create fun and positive activities
• Reward engagement
Benefits of Participating
• May increase cardio-vascular health;
• Raise endorphins which promote a feeling of overall happiness;
• Enhance camaraderie with fellow co-workers and HS parents;
• Improve morale which increases productivity and engagement;
• Promote mind/body/spirit connection which leads to better quality of life.
• Employees-Earn prizes and incentives.
Employee-Wellness Incentives
• Annual agency-wide wellness events
• Lunch time team walks
• Quarterly 5K walks
• Collaborated with the Live Well San Diego 5k walk/run two years in a row
• Barney & Barney Rewards
• Gift certificates
• Prizes
• New Wellness Portal through Sharp Health Plan
Live Well San Diego Program
On-site fitness classesA one (1) hour, 3 days per week, workout session (during lunch or after work), led by a certified personal trainer. Over 150 NHA employees are currently participating at the following locations:
• Copley (Main administration Bldg.)
• 41st Street (administration bldg.)
• Tubman-Chavez (community center)
• Four (4)Head Start Centers
Live Well San Diego ProgramEmployee Participants
Live Well San Diego ProgramParent Participants
Dalila Sanchez, Head Start Parent and Live Well participant
Live Well Fitness Classes are available to parents at the same locations and times as offered to employees
Fun, Fit, For Life: Staff, Parents, Children…Together
LIVE WELL
Together, NHA & Live Well San Diego, through our shared vision
of community wellness, are reaching a healthier, safer and
thriving community.
NHA’S COMMITTMENT: WELLNESS THROUGH
BALANCED LIVING
• Cultivate a culture of self-care through a wellness practice. Adaptive coping skills contribute to staff’s job satisfaction and productivity.
• Staff who are better able to manage their stress are more likely to engage in positive customer engagement.
“Women working in Head Start report higher than expected levels of physical and mental health problems.”
Temple University Head Start Teacher Stress Study 2013
LIVE WELL Head Start Intensive Pilot Project
▪ 3x/week personal group training at 5 different work sites
▪ Food journaling
▪ 5-6 classes at different hours
▪ About 140 employee participants and 15 parents
LIVE WELL group fitness training
Theory of Change (what is necessary to achieve change?): Build teacher and support staff capabilities to improve health outcomes of Head Start children and families. Teach teachers and support staff about the importance of healthy meals and exercise.
ClassroomGive-Back
– Support and Administrative staff join teachers in the classroom
– Together, support/admin staff and teacher co-lead movement, physical and self-regulation exercises
– They share nutritional information in the classroom setting to help ensure that wellness-focused activities are transferred to the classroom
how is learning transferred from the Live Well experience to the classroom?
LIVE WELL & HEAD START OLYMPICSFamily Engagement in Wellness
Let’s Move Olympics
• “ We make-up obstacle courses and use the parachute more…”
• ”…Now, in our daily meal conversation, the children talk about nutritious foods like fruits and vegetables that they eat at home...”
• “Children are actively involved in nutritious cooking activities like guacamole and berries yogurt pops.
• “When we have our healthy cooking activities, we read books about the fruits and veggies we just made and ate!”
Relationship Between Attendance & Satisfaction Rate
Change in Body Fat Over 2 Years
Living well & loving it………..
“WOW – I am certainly Living Well! Immediately after beginning Live Well I began sleeping better, I had more energy, and I became stronger, more balanced in both mind and body. I have more confidence, feel and look great. Thanks to Live Well!”
“….. And most important of all, this exercise program is such a stress reliever. It helps me minimize and manage my stress in a meaningful way when I encounter one. Thanks to Live Well program, my life has changed for the better!”
“ Live Well offered me the incredible opportunity to experience the most fulfilling mental wellbeing of feeling confident, and having a positive self-esteem. It also assisted me in maintaining better relationships at work, and I was able to provide a more productive performance. I experienced self-contentment through exercising and obtained positive results in my fitness goals….”
NUTRITION SERVICES
CHILD NUTRITION CONCERNS
• Low-income families live in food deserts
• Low vegetable consumption common in preschoolers
• Busy parents neglect meal times
• Parents lack cooking skills
• Children are constantly exposed to unhealthy foods
• Children are provided the opportunity to choose among unhealthy foods
• Parents lack healthy eating habits
• Head Start staff who interface with children at meal times must be educated on healthy eating
OUR BIG OPPORTUNITY
• Unique opportunity to prevent – rather than reduce – obesity
• Children consume up to 66% nutrient needs in our centers
• From-scratch made meals more nutritious than processed foods
• We may care for the most vulnerable population of children
• Teach life-lasting healthy behaviors regarding food and nutrition
• Bridge behaviors taught in school to home
• Parents expect us to provide the best for kids
• We can influence healthy eating in families and our own staff
NHA NUTRITION SERVICES
• Overhauled menu 9 years ago
• Now all meals made from-scratch
• Natural & organic ingredients as much as possible
• Foods sourced as locally as possible
• Planned according to San Diego’s harvest season
• Not the typical “kid menu”
• Disproves the myth children won’t eat “healthy” food
• Nutrition education for staff, families, and children
NHA NUTRITION SERVICES
• Culinary Team = 21 staff
• 6,000+ meals daily
• 1,000,000 meals annually
• On an annual basis:
– 30,000 gallons of 1% milk annually
– 41,000 bran muffins annually
– 25,000 cups of black beans
– 150,000 lbs of apples, bananas, oranges, and pears annually
• 500 miles driven daily around San Diego County
• 55 delivery stops daily
NHA NUTRITION SERVICES
Before After
Dinosaur-shaped Chicken Nuggets
Herbed Panko Cod with Spinach-Cranberry Salad
Oatmeal Cookies & Milk Cilantro Hummus with Carrot Sticks
Seafoam Jell-O with Fruit Roasted Garlic & Rosemary Bean Soup with Wheat Crackers
Sloppy Joes Sesame Noodles with Chicken and Vegetables
Menu Overhaul
NHA’s NUTRITION SERVICES
Notable Research
Pew Charitable Trusts• Selected NHA because of the high level of excellence in
developing healthy meals for Head Start children.• Purpose: USDA recommendations on best practices
California State University, Long Beach• Validated the nutritional quality of menu• Commended by serving “mini-meals” and a variety of
fresh fruits and vegetables
Baking the Herbed Panko Cod. This
entrée replaced fried and frozen fish sticks.
Delicious & Healthy Food for Children
Roasted tomatoes
for the soup!
Edamame Hummus, Sicilian Meat Sauce w/ Penne Pasta, &
Sweet Potato Yogurt
Lunch: Crunchy Asian Chicken Salad
Let’s Move! CHILD CARE
Former First Lady, Michelle Obama:
“Young kids can be picky eaters. They often assert their
independence through eating, or not eating, what they're
offered. It’s easier to serve foods you know they will like
and actually eat, without all of the meltdowns and frowns.
What’s easiest isn’t always best. Food preferences develop at an early age, even in infancy.
As a child care provider, you have a powerful opportunity to
teach kids’ taste buds to appreciate wholesome foods —
before they can learn differently. With a little patience, even
the fussiest young diners can learn to like healthy foods.”
Enjoying freshly cooked salmon & salad together!
NHA’s NUTRITION SERVICES PARTNERS
• SD County Childhood Obesity Initiative, Early Childhood Domain
• Occidental College Urban & Environmental Policy Institute
• San Diego State University WIC Dietetic Internship
• SD Farm to School & Institution Taskforce
• SD Hunger Coalition
• Olivewood Gardens and Learning Center
• Victory Gardens SD
• Edible San Diego
• Point Loma Nazarene University
• Suzie’s Farm
• Sysco
• Local bakery and tortilleria
Food Demo: Sweet Potato Hummus