Boston University's Student Health Ambassadors showed students just how delicious wellness could taste on Wednesday.
From 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., the ambassadors gathered outside the George Sherman Union for Healthy Snacks Day, an effort to raise awareness of the importance of nutritious food and promote Good To Know (GTK), the school's new wellness program.
"This is kind of our kick-off event of the year to reach out to the student body about wellness," said ambassador Hannah Putnam, a Sargent College of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences junior.
Putnam, who is majoring in human physiology at SAR, is one of the 12 undergraduate BU students who comprise the Student Health Ambassadors, an intermediary group between Student Health Services and the student body that promotes health and wellness through various campus events.
Michelle George, the wellness coordinator at SHS and supervisor of the Student Health Ambassadors, said that one aim of Healthy Snacks Day was to "raise students' awareness so that they know there are other choices besides Doritos, soda and things like that."
"Most people in the nutrition and wellness field feel like healthier eating promotes more energy," she added, also pointing out that healthy food may promote better sleep.
The free wholesome snacks offered to students passing in and out of the front entrance of the GSU included Cedar's hummus and pita chip snack packs, Kind fruit and nut bars, Snikiddy all natural baked fries, Pirate's Booty aged white cheddar puffs, Food Should Taste Good multigrain chips, Real Foods corn thins and Yogavive peach flavored Fuji apple chips.
Labels were placed on the back of each snack with blurbs suggesting how to best enjoy them &- for example, pairing the Snikiddy fries with vegetables or eating the Yogavive chips on the go while touring Boston.
"I think BU in general is really trying to increase the availability of these kinds of foods," George said.
Laura Judd, a registered dietitian at SAR's Nutrition Fitness, agreed.
"I think everyone's striving to eat healthier," she said. "There's a lot of information about nutrition out there. Some of it is good, some of it is not so good. We're just trying to raise awareness about services that we offer here on campus [such as] nutrition counseling."
"Nutrition is a big part of wellness," she added. "So it...relates to the full wellness picture that we're trying to create here at BU."
Students were also offered a "Good To Know" stamp card.
The Good To Know program &- short for "It's Good to Know About Wellness" &- allows students to earn prizes by attending various health and wellness-oriented events on campus. They may receive credits on the back of their GTK stamp cards at each event, which may then be exchanged for various prizes.
The number of credits members can receive from each event varies depending on the type of event. Events include online chats, wellness movie nights and campus seminars. The prizes include pedometers, massagers, backpacks, cups, flashlights and key chains.
GTK members may collect their prizes from the Wellness Education office at SHS on the last Friday of each month between 2 and 4 p.m. by presenting their GTK stamp card.
Upcoming GTK-approved events include a time management online chat on Sept. 13 (two credits), an obstacle course at the BU Beach on Sept. 14 (one credit) and an acupuncture seminar and practice on Sept. 28 (one credit).
To join Good To Know, email the wellness center at wellness@bu.edu, then add BU StudentHealth as a friend on Facebook to receive one complimentary GTK credit. For more information on Good To Know and other BU wellness programs and events, visit the Wellness Education Blog at http://blogs.bu.edu/wellness.
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