On Sept. 21 at noon, Oneida Public Library launches a special six-session weekly lunchtime program for preschoolers and adult family members called Rainbow Reading and Rainbow Eating, which involves both children and adults preparing simple recipes to create enjoyable yet nutritious lunches.
OPL’s Youth Services Coordinator Megan Gillander is teaming up with Elizabeth Coffey from Cornell Cooperative Extension’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and Sara Sevier from Women Infants and Children to offer a free, hands-on program about nutrition, cooking and reading as a basic tool in the kitchen.
Each of the six weekly one-hour meetings on Thursdays at noon, Sept. 21, to Oct. 26, will introduce children 3 to 6 years of age and their parents or guardians to a healthy colorful recipe that they can put together on tight budgets. A typical program will include: introducing a healthy and colorful recipe, working together to measure and prepare the food, enjoying a nutritious meal and a story in a social setting and, at the end, cleaning up as a team.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that currently one in five school-aged children is obese. The CDC also reports that the percentage of obese children in the United States has tripled since 1970.
Rainbow Reading and Rainbow Eating aims to counter this trend by encouraging children through play to become acquainted with reading label ingredients and recipes, cooking nutritional foods from scratch and sampling a variety of fruits and vegetables that are readily available in the supermarket.
To ensure participation in the free program, parents or guardians should sign up their preschool children before Sept. 21, either at the OPL’s Circulation Desk, 220 Broad St., or by calling 315.363.3050.