Real Kids Real Food
Youth Development United has partnered with Real Kids Real Food to help educate children and their families on the relationship between the food they eat and their overall health and wellness.
In February 2022, Real Kids Real Food instructor Sydney Gossweiler taught the children about the importance of eating a rainbow of fruits and vegetables, then led them through the process of making “Ants on a Log,” a healthy snack comprised of celery, almond butter and raisins. The children were also given their own rainbow of apples, oranges, bananas, celery, raisins and sunflower butter to share with their families. The session is viewable on Youtube.
In December 2022, Real Kids Real Food instructors Samantha Brintnall and Katie Davis gave a fun mindfulness/yoga lesson, taught the children about the abundance and dangers of sugar, and led the creation of healthy no-bake gingerbread people.
In January 2023, Real Kids Real Food helped secure the donation of four Blendjets to be used in live classes at Delaware County Housing Authority’s Fairgrounds Community, a 73 unit affordable housing community in Chester.
In the summer of 2023, nearly 20 children from Greater Chester participated in Real Kids Real Food Zoom sessions, benefitting from the nutrition education as well as the free groceries provided in order to follow along preparing the presented recipes.
Check out the delicious Real Kids Real Food recipes!
Sign up for more free Real Kids Real Food Zoom sessions!
About the Real Kids Real Food team:
In 2008, Betsy Bragg created programs to help others prevent obesity, chronic disease, and malnutrition, especially in children, through healthy living. She became director of what is now Eat to Thrive, www.eattothrive.info (ETT) for adults and Real Kids Real Food www.realkidsrealfood.org (RKRF) for children and authored Eat to Thrive: 10-Weeks to Lifelong Healthy Habits and Healthy Living, Real Kids Real Food Kids-Tested Recipes, and Real Kids Real Food (RKRF) Lesson Plans. She was the recipient of the 2014 Humanitarian Service Award for educating hundreds of youth to improve their health.
Samantha Brintnall, Sam for short, will be graduating from Cambridge College in Health and Wellness Promotion in 2023. She will be a student intern at Real Kids Real Food in the Spring of 2023. She’s also the executive director of the non-profit Yoga Neighborhood and owns her own business Lumi Yoga & Wellness. In her spare time, she loves to swim, read books, spend time outside and do lots of arts and crafts.
Katie Davis was a student intern at Real Kids Real Food (RKRF) in the spring of 2021. She currently works as an Education Program Manager at the School Health Institute for Education and Leadership Development (SHIELD). In her free time, Katie enjoys reading and taking long walks in Boston. She graduated from Boston University with a Master of Public Health concentrating in health communication and promotion.”
Sydney Gossweiler was a student intern in the spring of 2021. She is a senior at Appalachian State University studying Psychology with a concentration in Health Studies, and was part of a group that won a national HOSA (Future Health Professionals) competition.