With school, work and everything in between, students can find it difficult to maintain a balanced, healthy lifestyle.
The new “Take a Fresh Fruit Break” nutrition program was created by Student Health Center dietitian Stephanie Annett. What inspired her to come up with the program where students’ frequently asked questions for eating healthier.
“I meet with students one-on-one, and they say finding healthy snacks are a challenge,” Annett said. “So, they said if there was something midday they can have a piece of, like fruit, for example, that can help them eat better.”
According to a spring 2015 survey administered by the National Collegiate Health Assessment, about four percent of Fresno State students were getting the recommended amount of fruits and vegetables daily.
Annett then realized this statistic was something she wanted to help improve.
The program’s goal is to at least raise the percentage up to 25 percent.
“I’d love for it to be 100 percent, but that’s probably not realistic,” Annett added.
Amy Allen, assistant director of operations at the recreation center, said she hopes students start eating more fruits and vegetables and understand that it’s part of a healthy lifestyle.
“We want students to get into the habit of eating healthier,” Allen said.
The nutrition program will also offer workshops, information booths and body fat testing.
“We normally offer body fat testing here at the health center Monday through Thursday, but the first Tuesday of every month, we will be taking the show on the road over to the rec center,” Annett said. “We’ll do ‘Wellness Wednesdays’ in the rec center, so students can come and get health information.”
Jasmine Roberson, a third-year kinesiology major, said she thinks the nutrition program is a good idea.
“A lot of times fruit and vegetables are the last thing on a lot of students’ grocery list just because Taco Bell is a lot cheaper and Wendy’s is a lot cheaper,” Robertson said. “So I think if they get in the habit of having fruits and vegetables here, then they might put money aside to buy it and realize it’s not that expensive.”
Annett added there are a variety of nutrition workshops planned throughout the semester, such as “Eating Healthy on a Budget,” “Healthy by Design” and “Nutrition Myths and Facts.”
“I want students to know that nutrition help is available,” Annett said. “I also want to just get the information out there that there are healthy options. And we encourage people to come and take advantage of these free events. Our plan is for this program to continue on to spring 2016. I have every reason for this to continue. I believe this will be successful.”