WELLNESS WEDNESDAYS
“You think this is just another day in your life. It is not just another day. It is the one that is given to you today…It’s the only gift that you have right now. And the only appropriate response is gratefulness.”
--Brother David Steindl-Rast, a Benedictine monk
This week's issue of WELLNESS WEDNESDAYS is dedicated to gratefulness. The fourth Thursday of November is the celebration of Thanksgiving, a special day in American history. It is a celebration of giving thanks, a historical reminder about the Pilgrims and the American natives breaking bread together, creating family and community traditions, of being grateful.
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| Thank you to farmers like Lisa Brenneman. |
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| Thank you to the children who come and learn at our programs. |
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| Thank you for family (that's my brother Bill, on the left, with some of the kids) |
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| Thank you for family (my brother, Rob, on the left with his son, Robbie at the new family farm). |
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| Thank you to the volunteers who provide the fuel for our programs. |
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| Thank you for the staff who assist in our Growing Healthy Kids in the Kitchen programs. |
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| Thank you to our volunteers at our annual Hummus at Humiston events, where we connect kids with the local farmers. |
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| Thank you to the farmers who grow what we need. |
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| Thank you to friends. |
The mission of Growing Healthy Kids, Inc. is to improve the health – and lives – of America’s children by focusing on good foods and physical fun. Our programs educate parents and children about the “how” and “why” of eating locally grown vegetables, fruits, and whole grains and creating plant-based meals that are easy and economical to prepare. Because of this mission, we get to play with the people who are growing good foods, take farm trips with kids, and create healthy recipes in our Growing Healthy Kids Test Kitchen. In our work to improve health literacy and reverse childhood obesity and obesity-related diseases, there are many things for which I am grateful.
To watch an inspirational video and listen to the words of Brother David Steindl-Rast, including the music of my friend, Gary Malkin, click here.
Here are some of the things I am grateful for today and every day:
The local farmers who grow the Swiss chard, Tuscan kale, Purple Cherokee tomatoes, spinach, pumpkins, watermelon, navel oranges, Ruby Red grapefruits, pecans, Shitake and Portobello mushrooms, basil, parsnips, sweet potatoes, butternut squash, and other beautiful vegetables, fruits, and nuts that fill the recipes we create with and for Growing Healthy Kids. Several of the local farmers who partner with the Growing Healthy Kids project and to whom I am grateful include Louis Schacht (Schacht Groves), Kevin O’Dare (Osceola Organics), Linda Hart (Crazy Hart Ranch), Lisa and Dan Brenneman (Florida Veggies and More), and Brenda and Jim Gibbons (Gibbons Organics). For a link to some amazing recipes featuring the foods we highlight in the Growing Healthy Kids Test Kitchen, click here.
The local chefs who are using foods grown by our local farmers instead of vegetables grown 2,000 miles away.
The parents who are seeking better foods for our children who eat two of their three meals through the free and reduced school meal program.
The volunteers who make our educational programs so much fun.
The children who have attended and those who will attend our educational programs, because they are the true leaders of Growing Healthy Kids.
Most of all, I am grateful for family. We are all family in this adventure called life! What are YOU grateful for?
In gratitude to each and every one of you,
Nancy Heinrich
Growing Healthy Kids, Inc.
