Students swarmed around a snack-covered table in the George Sherman Union Wednesday afternoon. However, this food giveaway was different from the candy and ice cream free-for-all at the Comm Ave Fair. Instead, these products were intended to kickstart students on a path of healthy eating.
“None of these products have artificial colors, flavors, preservatives, or ingredients,” said Student Health Services wellness coordinator, Michelle George. “Most have good amounts of protein and complex carbohydrates.”
The products in question are all crunchy, salty, non-fried confections. The Food Should Taste Good Sweet Potato Tortilla Chips are both sweet and savory, and available in on-campus convenience stores. Smart Puffs (from Pirate Brands) are a healthy alternative to standard artificial cheese puffs, and are made from real Wisconsin Cheese to boot. Other snacks included corn thins, which are like rice cakes—except made from corn—and baked snap pea crisps, which are some of the more pleasant vegetable-based chips on the market.
For beverages, Sargent Choice offered bottles of Hint flavored water. As George pointed out, “The water is obviously better than Coke or Pepsi. It’s water.” Indeed, Hint is just water with a few drops of natural fruit flavors to give just a hint of sweetness.
All the snacks were packaged with helpful stickers with tips on how to jazz up a regular snack on the way to class. For the snap pea crisps, one should “add these to your salad for an extra crunch and a serving of vegetables!” (The exclamation mark shows how exciting eating healthy can be!) For the corn thins, the label suggests slathering on peanut butter and fruit—some banana slices would certainly be welcome.
Sargent Choice also handed out an information sheet to inform students on how to make a balanced snack at any time. The chart says that the best snacks incorporate three elements: a whole grain or starchy vegetable, a non-starchy vegetable or fruit, and a lean protein. With the chart, you can fabricate the proper balance of crackers, hummus, and cucumber, among infinitely other combinations. The same sheet can be found here.
“A college student’s day is very scattered,” said George. “A lot of eating is done on the go, so we’re raising awareness for better choices.”
So far, students seem to be open to new ideas on eating healthy snacks. As George pointed out, “We had about 6,000 snacks to give away, and we probably gave 70 percent away in an hour.”
For more information on the Sargent Choice program, visit their website, twitter, or Facebook.
