Thanks to Glen “Big Baby” Davis and his entertaining and amusing educational techniques, roughly 100 elementary school students are more aware of the importance of eating fruits and vegetables than ever before.
Davis, last week – in ways that surely coincide with his engaging personality – explained to kids all about nutrition at the Callahan Center in Orlando as part of a campaign to spread awareness for the Department of Agriculture’s Summer Nutrition Program.
At one point while the children ate lunch handed out by the Orlando Magic forward, Davis highlighted the different foods such as carrots, broccoli and apples that NBA superstars LeBron James and Rajon Rondo eat to be big and strong.
Davis credits his improved performance based largely on his meal choices. While weight has always been an issue for the four-year veteran, Davis makes sure he eats appropriate portion sizes and enough foods that are packed with protein and vitamins.
“It’s been the difference in my career,” Davis said about his change in diet over the last few years. “Knowledge is so important and I learned about healthy choices and now I want to teach kids the same thing.”
“It’s mental in a lot of ways,” he added. “But you learn how important good nutritious foods are in every day life and it pushes you.”
Now, Davis and the entire Magic organization’s goal is to make sure kids are attentive to the opportunities available to them to continue to eat healthy throughout the summer.
During the school year, more than 1.6 million Florida students rely on free or reduced price school meals through the National School Lunch Program. However, when school is not in session, often kids don’t have the necessary guidance or support to continue eating nourishing meals throughout the day.
Summer BreakSpots, in which there are approximately 3,000 of them in Florida at various community sites such as schools, parks & recreation centers, low-income housing complexes and pools, offers youth the opportunity to eat free healthy meals during the summer months.
The initial launch of the program was in May and featured STUFF the Magic Mascot, along with mascots from the Tampa Bay Rays, Jacksonville Jaguars and Miami Dolphins announcing a partnership that aims to expand awareness of the program to communities across the state.
“It was great to have the Magic here today,” said Joseph Caesar, Community Center Manager for the Callahan Neighborhood Center. “The kids had a blast and Glen was the perfect guest to help educate kids about nutrition.”
by Josh Cohen
[…] important and I learned about healthy choices and now I want to teach kids the same thing,” said the Orlando ‘Magic’ player. “It’s mental in a lot of ways. But you learn how […]