Over at Harris County Department of Education’s (HCDE) North Post Oak Building, the first-floor conference room and adjoining hallway were transformed into a multicultural experience for students on July 1.

From the aroma of Asian cuisine and sizzle of arepas cooking in a frying pan, to the sounds of Jamaican and Brazilian-inspired music, and the laughter of children jumping rope and line dancing to the latest tunes.

Kids’ Day Healthy Living was a success, making its return to HCDE’s Center for Afterschool, Summer and Enrichment (CASE) for Kids and giving Harris County students a platform to learn about a healthy lifestyle through nutrition, mental well-being and physical fitness through the lens of various cultures and countries across the globe.

Themed as a “Wellness World Tour,” the event returned with a push from Janie Bostic-Gibson, CASE for Kids project coordinator of special events and someone who practices living a healthy lifestyle every day.

“My husband is a trainer so it’s part of my daily life,” she said. “So, knowing the importance of all the curriculum consists of, knowing what our kids eat – the processed foods – and knowing how little these things are actually covered and highlighted in a school day, this was an opportunity to celebrate a Kids’ Day and bring the students together.”

The hands-on curriculum that normally runs over eight weeks during a school semester, was modified to four for the summertime. The project-based learning and core components remained, highlighted with a display on a different country from each CASE for Kids campus.

The displays ranged from posters and standing tri-fold boards featuring cultural facts, nutritional breakdowns of food items and photos, to bowls of fortune cookies and speakers showcasing music from the respective countries.

CASE for Kids worked with the Center for Grants Development to help secure event funding. To help subsidize the food teams used for their dishes, Lakeland Foods, a contracted vendor through HCDE’s Choice Partners national purchasing cooperative, donated all the items and ingredients.

“I love a good collaboration and knowing all the divisions that our agency has, it’s a no brainer to start within our own house and our own family,” Bostic-Gibson said.

Following an opening and breakfast for the students, their wellness tour got underway. It featured three stations – cooking stations and their country displays, physical fitness activities and a Zen room for relaxation.

Teams cooked their dishes for HCDE staff members who served as judges, while fellow teammates showcased their displays and project-based research to the Lakeland Foods representatives, who judged this portion.

Lakeland Foods also provided a live cooking demonstration and then served the Asian-inspired food items as part of lunch to everyone.

“I am so glad to be a part of this and I will do whatever I can to get it again for next year,” said Vanessa Lazo, Lakeland Foods K-12 executive sales representative. “This takes me out of the office, but when it comes to kids, we do go out and meet the child nutrition directors, the assistant directors, the menu planners and the nutritionists. We are out there, trying to get new items added to their menus for the fall.

“We’re also with kids all the time. What I love to do is get in front of the kids and have them try the food, and with the interactions, we’re talking about healthy living and trying to teach them.”

The day concluded with an awards ceremony. Teams were honored for their cooking and presentations, while special accolades went to students who showed the most enthusiasm and energy throughout the day.

In the end, Secret Ross and her classmates from Cobb Sixth Grade Campus in Galena Park Independent School District took home overall honors. They choose Jamaica as their country, featuring music from the nation as part of their presentation.

The team received positive reviews from judges for their cookbook, which the team produced to detail the food items they made.

“We all wanted to do something from the Caribbean so we all agreed on Jamaica,” Ross said. “Some people in our group didn’t know about Bob Marley being from Jamaica, for example, so we explained it to them. It was fun researching about a culture that I’m not a part of, but it came to me working on this.”