***************************NEWS RELEASE/MEDIA OPPORTUNITY**********************
 
WHAT:           Happy Kitchen, Healthy Choices featuring Back-to-School Lunch and Snacks and Hula Lessons
 
WHEN:           Saturday, Aug. 19 from 10 a.m. to Noon
 
WHERE:        Garcia Center, 2021 Agnes St.
 
COST:            Free and open to the public
     

Program Offers Tips for Healthy Back-to-School Lunches and Snacks

Happy Kitchen, Healthy Choices will present a free back-to-school demonstration featuring nutritious lunch and snack ideas for parents on Saturday, Aug. 19 from 10 a.m. to noon at the Antonio E. Garcia Arts and Education Center (Garcia Center), 1201 Agnes Street. University President Flavius Killebrew will be on hand to welcome guests and participate in the food demonstration by Lisa Pantoja, nutrition expert with the Food Bank. Participants will receive a food kit and recipe cards of the items prepared at the demonstration. The Hyper Squad dance team and Izzy the Islander Mascot will provide free hula lessons for children.

Happy Kitchen, Healthy Choices is a joint collaboration between the Garcia Center, which is a satellite office of Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, and the Food Bank of Corpus Christi. The five-week nutrition and health class for adults and children will kick-off the second season of programs at the Garcia Center.
                            
Happy Kitchen, Healthy Choices is the brainchild of Robert Garcia, director of the Garcia Center, and Jane Orrell, education coordinator at the Food Bank. They wanted an education program that would include a nutrition component for parents and exercise classes for kids. The program is funded by the Nueces County Commissioners Court through Precinct 2 Commissioner Betty Jean Longoria.

“Through Nueces County I had the funds available to help educate people about diabetes, heart disease and obesity,” said Longoria. “The Garcia Center was a great facility to host these health education classes because it is in an area of city that needs this type of information.”

In 2002, the Center for Disease Control (CDC) cited that 16 percent of children aged 6-11 were overweight, with the same percentage holding true for 12-19 year olds. And the most recent figures from the American Obesity Association reveal that around 16 percent of US children are currently classed as obese.

According to Dr. Don Melrose, assistant professor of kinesiology and health at A&M-Corpus Christi, the problem is a combination of parents' poor eating habits that are passed onto children and a lack of exercise.

“It might sound cliché, but parents have to stop using TV and video games as a baby sitter,” Melrose said. “In the long run it’s an issue of calories in and calories out, meaning that the number of calories being consumed are not being expended by physical activity.”

Melrose also stresses that diseases such as Type II diabetes are factors that can complicate matters for children.
“If body weight is an issue, it can lead to orthopedic problems that make exercise difficult," he said. "Obesity can also lead to self esteem issues that can cause depression.”

The Happy Kitchen, Healthy Choices back-to-school demonstration is free and open to the public. For more information, call (361) 882-7837.

The Garcia Center’s mission is to provide art and educational programming for families and to integrate University supported programs into the community.