The innovative, award-winning Food Is Elementary curriculum is coming to Pittsburgh!  This hands-on approach to teaching children about nutrition will be the subject of a two-day training led by author, Dr. Antonia Demas.  The trainings will be held March 6th and 7th from 9am to 4pm at the Center for Victims of Violence and Crime, 5916 Penn Circle in East Liberty. They are open to anyone interested in teaching the curriculum in elementary schools as a certified Food Educator.

Based on the USDA Food Guide Pyramid, the Food is Elementary Curriculum teaches children about the relationship between food choices and disease prevention in a fun, practical, and sensory way.  The curriculum is the result of the pioneering work of Dr. Antonia Demas, founder and president of the Food Studies Institute (www.foodstudies.org).  Demas hopes to teach the 28-unit curriculum to a new generation of Food Educators who will take the lesson plans and healthy foods into elementary school classrooms.  Food Is Elementary has won national awards from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Society of Nutrition Education.  Currently it is taught in more than 2,000 schools nationwide, including three in Pittsburgh so far.

Rosemary Traill, a certified Food Educator since 2003, teaches the curriculum in Colfax Elementary, Faison Primary, and the Kentucky Avenue School.  Traill explains, “Children learn to prepare healthy foods as well as learn about the cultures they come from. The wonderful thing is— it works! Children get excited about fruits and vegetables when they learn about them in a fun way and get to prepare foods right in the classroom.”

Unhealthy diets are a major cause of health problems like obesity, which are on the rise in childhood. The number of children who are overweight or obese has more than tripled since 1980.  That is over 9 million children in the U.S. The Food is Elementary program is a practical and direct approach to addressing this problem.

Registration for the Food Educator Training is open until full, but space is limited.  Fees apply.  For more information or to register, contact Rosemary Traill at 412-741-5167 or at macrorose@msn.com. 

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