Laurelhurst
Nutrition
Advisory
Committee
A Nutrition Committee Kick-Off
Idea for Your School
The Laurelhurst Nutrition Advisory Committee (LNAC) was formed in the Spring of 2005. The committee started with a core group of volunteers, along with the support of the Laurelhurst PTA. They even provided LNAC with a small initial grant to help us get started. Over the first few months, the core group of volunteers brainstormed ideas, began developing relationships within the school district and the community, developed a mission and focus, and even published the first issue of the Laurelhurst Nutrition News.
Over the Summer of 2005, the committee decided that it was ready to “launch” itself within the Laurelhurst community. Each fall on the first day of school, the Laurelhurst PTA sponsors a “Back to School” coffee, which gives parents a chance to check out all of the great activities and volunteer opportunities Laurelhurst Elementary has to offer. This event provided LNAC with the perfect opportunity to reach many parents in an interactive format.
LNAC had three main objectives for the Back-to-School event:
- To generate awareness among in-coming families, as well as returning families, of the existence of the Laurelhurst Nutrition Advisory Committee.
- To create excitement and enthusiasm in support of the upcoming plans for this new committee.
- To recruit volunteers for our committee.
At the Back-to-School coffee, each committee was given a table to display their information. Following is an overview and pictures of our experience, along with some tips of things we learned along the way. Our display met with terrific enthusiasm and great interest!
Based on our experience, we would recommend having at least 2, but ideally 3, people from your committee available for set-up, clean-up, and to talk with parents during the event. Remember, a key objective is recruiting volunteers so you want people who are excited about your mission and who can speak enthusiastically about your activities. Create a volunteer recruitment form to help collect contact information (be sure to bring along several pens).
We wanted to make our table stand-out from the others. We started by covering it in a bright tablecloth—that helped, we were the only table with a tablecloth! As a new committee, we were given great placement up near the front door as parents walked into the room.
We developed an eye-catching tri-fold display for our information. We included interesting quotes, facts about the link between nutrition and readiness to learn, as well as volunteer opportunities.
What really caught people’s attention were the three lunch boxes we displayed that each included creative lunch ideas. We created a “What to Pack” tip sheet handout to help inspire parents. We also made available copies of our first newsletter, as well as a recent article from Seattle Magazine on children and nutrition (it didn’t hurt that the article mentioned our efforts at Laurelhurst).
