A group of 18 children and teens from the Boys and Girls Club of Hollywood recently learned how to choose healthy foods on a budget at the grocery store through a program administered by Nestlé and Superior Grocers. The companies also provided a $2,000 grant to the club to continue education on healthy eating.

Students from the Boys and Girls Club of Hollywood headed straight for the produce during an exercise on healthy eating. (photo courtesy of Nestlé USA)

The club members, ages 7 to 15, took a field trip on March 23 to a Superior Grocers store in Baldwin Hills and were given a chart indicating healthy choices in each food group. They were split into two groups and given a $35 budget to purchase dinner for their family, with a frozen lasagna entrée as the main course.

The boys and girls walked the aisles in search of healthy foods that would cost the least amount of money. One group spent $32, and the other spent $22, said Mel Culpepper, executive director of the Boys and Girls Club of Hollywood.

“They went directly to the produce and started picking out salad and broccoli, fresh strawberries, granola for dessert, corn on the cob and whole wheat bread,” Culpepper added. “The whole exercise was to teach them how to go in and shop with a $35 budget. They came back and we discussed what they learned.”

The club members did not keep the food they selected because there were too many participants and too few items to fairly split among the group. However, free healthy snacks such as fruit salad were provided, and all members received a gift bag with a $10 gift card from the grocer.

“We are encouraging our kids to put down the hot Cheetos and pick up an apple, to drink 100 percent fruit juice instead of a Slurpee,” Culpepper said. “These are the kinds of things we are trying to shift the kids away from, but it’s a challenge.”

Culpepper said obesity among children is a growing problem, and added that a significant challenge is educating parents. Approximately 70 percent of the Boys and Girls Club of Hollywood’s 1,400 members are Latino, and sometimes language barriers among parents make it challenging to spread the word about healthy eating, she added. Superior Grocers has 44 stores in Southern California, with many located in neighborhoods with large Latino populations. Culpepper said the partnership with Nestlé and Superior Grocers will provide significant benefits.

“We are constantly encouraging kids to make good choices around food. The goal is to have them share the information with their parents and siblings,” Culpepper said. “Eating fruit is a big deal, and a big challenge. It’s a struggle, and parents need to be educated as well.”

The funding for the Boys and Girls Club of Hollywood was part of a $10,000 grant administered by Nestlé and Superior Grocers to other boys and girls clubs throughout Los Angeles.

“Nestlé is committed to supporting our local communities,” Nestlé community affairs and educational programs manager Rita Henderson said in a statement. “Nestlé’s partnership with Superior Grocers and the Boys and Girls Clubs provides nutrition education to youth across Los Angeles, focusing on simple and delicious ways to achieve balanced meal planning and lead a more nutritious, healthy lifestyle.”

Culpepper said the healthy eating program is one of many ways the club is addressing obesity in children. A renovation project in the club’s gymnasium is underway, made possible through a $1.3 million donation from the Margie and Robert E. Foundation that was received in 2013. The project is anticipated to be completed in August, and will allow the club to expand its athletic programs.

“We have soccer, basketball, flag football and dodgeball, which are all part of our programs to keep the kids active,” Culpepper said. “We are a few months away from opening the doors on our new renovated gymnasium, which will be great for our kids.”