Beyond the Bell: Part 5 – Healthy Eating Around the World
This fifth installment of the Beyond the Bell series highlights how the “Healthy Eating Around the World”, an Operation Inspire afterschool program at Eulalie R. Rivera K-8 School, cultivates beyond the plate.
Healthy eating isn’t just about food—it’s about understanding how our choices impact ourselves and the world. In this program, food is used to teach children about nutrition, cultural heritage, and sustainability. This program also fosters creativity and builds life skills in a fun and engaging manner.
Why focus on healthy eating?
Incorporating nutrition education at an early age offers numerous benefits that can positively impact children’s health, academic performance, and overall development. In addition to sparking a lifelong interest in health and wellness, afterschool programs like these also promote academic achievement.
By introducing children to the joy of healthy eating and the history behind some traditional meals, this program offers practical and cultural benefits, links history and geography, fosters respect for diversity and broadens perspectives.
What does the program cover?
This nutrition program integrates STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics), making it highly engaging and educational. Students are using science to learn how different ingredients interact, math to scale recipes up or down, and analyzing data such as favorite recipes, and time taken to prepare various meals.
Through hands-on cooking workshops, children explore the nutritional benefits of traditional dishes from around the world, while adding their own cultural twist. They also learn how to prepare simple dishes like smoothies.
“Healthy Eating Around the World” also includes a gardening component, which teaches children to connect the dots between what they eat and the broader ecosystem.
Stay tuned for the next post in the Beyond the Bell series, where we’ll spotlight another inspiring Cane Bay Cares Operation Inspire afterschool program!
Cane Bay Cares is a service initiative of St. Croix-based Cane Bay Partners VI, LLLP. Cane Bay Cares was established after three strong hurricanes, including two Category 5 storms, Irma and Maria, caused much damage to St. Croix during September 2017. The initiative has a goal of providing relief to the citizens of St. Croix. To make this possible, we have partnered with St. Croix Foundation, which is a 501c3 nonprofit that was established in 1990. All donations to Cane Bay Cares are donations to St. Croix Foundation and are 100% tax deductible.
Cane Bay Partners VI, LLLP was formed in June 2009 and founded by internationally experienced business executives with many years of experience in the financial services industry. Focusing our efforts primarily in the financial services industry, our management consulting practice specializes in providing services to clients in need of sophisticated risk management models, debt collections organizations which require liquidation models and analytics, and portfolio management companies desiring a variety of services.
Since 1990, St. Croix Foundation for Community Development has been advancing holistic community development as a pathway to economic prosperity, self-sufficiency, and sustainability. Established in the wake of Hurricane Hugo, today the Foundation is one of the premier place-based philanthropic leaders in the Virgin Islands. Having served as the conduit of over $37 million private and public sector dollars invested into the U.S. Virgin Islands, the Foundation’s impact has netted national recognition in almost every priority area – from economic development and community revitalization to public health, education reform, and nonprofit development. Our mission is to encourage greater philanthropic activity, to marshal resources, and to act as a catalyst to benefit the people of the Virgin Islands.