The Santa Maria Parks and Recreation Department recently received grant money through the Marian Medical Foundation to offer Healthy for Life workshops to at-risk families and their children through the “Live Well, Buen Salud Santa Maria” program.
Nonprofit organization People for Leisure and Youth (PLAY) and the department will share the $15,000 award. Parks and Recreation Coordinator Barbara Wiley said the grant application process was very competitive.
According to Wiley, the Marian Foundation identified various community needs though their patients and, together with the department, decided health and physical education are top priorities for the community. The department helped develop a series of health and cooking classes with the ultimate goal of providing health education to local families.
There is a host of upcoming events and workshops that focus on eating well and staying active. Working in tandem with Marian, there will be a five-week nutrition class offered, as well as cooking classes that will teach families how to make healthy dishes and how to save money by buying fruits and vegetables that are in season.
Wiley said if families attend four events, their children will get to attend a day camp at the end of June.
“Families will get to be active with their children and get to do new things together,” Wiley said.
The grant also provides funding of outreach programs through local schools. Adam and Bonita schools are the first two campuses to experience the program. Wiley said they hope to expand services to another four schools soon.
Another facet of the “Live Well, Buen Salud” Santa Maria program is the “Eat What We Grow” campaign.
“We are so lucky to live in the Santa Maria Valley where we grow so much healthy food,” Wiley said.
She’s hoping the campaign will help educate children on how vegetables and fruits go from farm to plate, as well as teach families to eat and buy local.
“We want to promote health for all ages, and we have all sorts of resources to help encourage health and wellness,” she said. “I’m excited to work with Marian. This is fresh and innovative.”
The next Live Well Santa Maria Cooking Workshop will be held May 16 from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Memorial Community Center.
For more information, contact the Parks and Recreation Department at 925-0951, Ext. 260.
Staff Writer Kristina Sewell compiled this week’s Community Corner. Send comments or ideas to the Sun via e-mail at ksewell@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in May 10-17, 2012.