Dairy Council of California Awards over $45,000 in Let’s Eat Healthy Community Grants

SACRAMENTO, Calif., Feb. 15, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Dairy Council of California, a leader in nutrition education and advocacy, has awarded over $45,000 in community grants to assist California schools and community-based organizations with innovative and sustainable solutions to foster healthy eating and meet local needs.

Grants advance Dairy Council of California’s Let’s Eat Healthy Initiative, engaging nutrition champions to support equitable access to science-based nutrition education. Funds also support food and agricultural literacy and help make healthy, wholesome foods, including milk and dairy foods, more accessible for local California communities. Awardees include:

My Healthy Reader, Riverside County
“I have been a long-time fan of both the Dairy Council and Let’s Eat Healthy, utilizing their online resources to help educate families and young children on the benefits of good nutrition. Being a grant recipient is an exciting honor that provides support and opportunity to expand program efforts. This grant will allow us to continue to impact families in the Inland Empire, by providing knowledge and resources that assist in learning how to make healthy food and dairy choices,” says My Healthy Reader CEO Yvonne Roberson Choyce.

Griffiths Middle School, Downey Unified School District, Los Angeles County  
“The Let’s Eat Healthy Community Grant provides our students with the essential knowledge and tools for a healthier future. This grant opens doors to nutrition education and wellness initiatives that will lead our students on a path of lifelong well-being,” culinary teacher Kim Silverman states. 

Centennial Farm, Orange County
“The Orange County Fair and Event Center’s Centennial Farm is excited to have been selected as a recipient of the Dairy Council’s Let’s Eat Healthy Community Grant. Funds will be used to further enhance the importance of dairy and nutrition through activities with our existing educational programs and the impact of the grant funds will benefit students for years to come,” states Evy Young, director of agriculture programs at Centennial Farm.

Ladera Ranch Middle School, Capistrano Unified School District, Orange County  
“The Let’s Eat Healthy grant will significantly impact culinary classes. The classroom is over two decades old. With this funding, we now have the means to procure new equipment that has worn out. These enhancements will enrich our food labs, which integrate nutrition education and experimentation with different techniques and ingredients, notably emphasizing yeast dough making, homemade butter, milk cultures for cheese, and more,” says culinary teacher Carrie Gray.

Community Housing Opportunities Corporation, Youth Services Program, Solano County  
According to Amahirani Reyes, youth services program manager for Community Housing Opportunities Corporation, “CHOC sincerely appreciates the generous support extended by the Dairy Council of California in establishing this valuable partnership. Their support is positioned to significantly enhance youth nutrition education within our affordable housing communities, leaving a positive and lasting impact.”

Dairy Council of California CEO Amy DeLisio explains the further impact of the grants: “The Let’s Eat Healthy Community Grants are another powerful tool for organizations to continue to provide access and opportunities where children, families and communities can build positive connections between nutrition, agriculture and lifelong healthy eating. These grants, and the valuable work of the awardees, will make a difference in the lives of those who need it most for years to come.”

About Dairy Council of California
Dairy Council of California is a nutrition organization working together with champions to elevate the health of children and communities through lifelong healthy eating patterns. Focusing on education, advocacy, dairy agricultural literacy and collaboration, Dairy Council of California advances the health benefits of milk and dairy foods as part of the solution to achieving nutrition security and sustainable food systems. Learn more at DairyCouncilofCA.org.

About the Let’s Eat Healthy Initiative
Launched by Dairy Council of California, Let’s Eat Healthy is an initiative that brings together community leaders and stakeholders with expertise in education, school foodservice, public health, health care and agriculture, inviting these change-makers to elevate the health of children and families through the pursuit of lifelong healthy eating habits. Through coordination and collaboration, Let’s Eat Healthy strives to provide sustainable solutions to champion community health and make healthy, wholesome foods accessible to all. The Let’s Eat Healthy Initiative is driven to provide dynamic educational resources and tools, peer networking, amplification of best practices and the latest in nutrition information, uniting individuals and organizations through shared values. Join the initiative and make a difference at HealthyEating.org.

Contact:
Meggan Rush
Communications Manager
Dairy Council of California
916.633.3644
mrush@dairycouncilofca.org

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/f3f37df5-4eba-4ba6-b18d-752bb624349c