WILKES-BARRE, Pa. — It was a day dedicated to healthy eating for kids in Wilkes-Barre — Child Nutrition Day. For families, it's not just about eating but about education.
"We know that to instill the importance of healthy eating, nutrition, physical activity. This is the time to do it so they are set up for success," said Brittany Shoemaker, director of Luzerne County Head Start.
The Luzerne County Head Start program teamed up with the Wilkes-Barre Health Department and other organizations for the kids' nutrition day.
"Food insecurity is a huge problem here in the valley, so we just want to make sure we are connecting our families with a lot of different ways to keep supplementing these things."
The Weinberg Food Bank is serving up pasta ratatouille with a side of tips for parents to get the little ones to become more adventurous eaters.
"Getting them involved at the store or wherever you are choosing your foods, they are more likely to eat the food if they choose it themselves and, the other important thing is including them in the preparation of the food," said nutrition educator Amanda Gordineer.
They're also teaching families how to stretch their food budgets while providing healthy options using fresh, frozen and canned goods.
"We are trying to incorporate all of the good groups here because it is important for people to know how to cook quick healthy meals," said nutrition educator Kathy Lockman.
For parents like Megan Jardine, a mother of three, she tells Newswatch 16 she's always keeping an eye out for local resources.
"The last booth was talking about dinners for families, and that is something I didn't know about, so I'm actually going to take advantage of that since, you know, three kids, it talks about delivering dinners; I'm all for it."
All the resources are available for families year-round.
Check out WNEP’s YouTube channel.