News

Developing healthy eating habits for students and their families in Palomas, Mexico

July 15, 2024

The Paso del Norte Health Foundation recently announced a grant to Border Partners under the Healthy Eating Initiative to continue and extend its work in nutrition education in Palomas, Mexico.

Border Partners is a nonprofit organization uniting people from both sides of the US-Mexico border to improve access to food, shelter, clean water, health services, education, and economic security.

Previous funding from the Health Foundation allowed staff to deliver a comprehensive program on nutrition and gardening classes with school-age students in Palomas.

The cooks for the schools’ food service programs received training on how to include more healthy foods in the lunches they serve. The teachers attended training to learn why it’s so important to educate children about healthy eating habits.

Each of the five Palomas-based schools now has a year-round greenhouse filled with seasonal, healthy vegetables. The students plant the vegetables, and the school cooks use them in lunches.

In addition to education programs, Border Partners organizes community health fairs to help students, their families, and the community develop healthy habits. Obesity, diabetes, and hypertension are serious health concerns in Mexico. There is much work to do to prevent disease through healthy eating. Border Partners looks forward to working with partners across the region to prepare students for a healthy future.

To learn more about the Healthy Eating initiative and awarded grants, visit pdnhf.org.