At the end of February Healthy Start/ Depart Santé was happy to welcome two new Project Coordinators to the team in Saskatchewan. Erica Stevenson, who has previously worked with Saskatoon Tribal Council in the Early Learning Centre and then in a 24 hour emergency home. Mindy Bodnarchuk, brings a wide array of experience from working at Canadian National Institute for the Blind, as a Community School Coordinator with the Catholic School Division, as well as a head start program working with newcomers to Canada.
When asked what she enjoyed most about being part of the Healthy Start/Départ Santé project, Erica indicated that ‘being proactive and helping childcare centres and in the end families to lead healthier lives.’ She adds, “Children learn habits at a young age. Teach them healthy habits to carry on into adulthood.” She used to work in two child care centres most recently in a 24 hour emergency home. Erica is a Mom to an (almost) 3 year-old. She has enjoyed putting the LEAP BC TM – Food Flair resource into practice with her family, especially concepts from the Feeding Relationship where “the adult provides and children decide”. Erica has found that there is no pressure around mealtime in her household. She explains, “My son has always been a big eater and rarely dislikes foods he tries. He is so proud to serve himself his own meals. It also gives us, as a family, a chance to talk about food and to work on table manners with him.”
Mindy likes that Healthy Start/Départ Santé is striving to increase healthy eating and physical activity in Saskatchewan, especially with childhood obesity in the province being on the rise. She appreciates that the project works with remote centres where access to nutritious food can be an issue, and recognizes that each community and centre has its own unique culture. Mindy enjoys working in partnership with each centre and their established strengths to form healthy eating and physical activity goals that fit within the community. Sharing information is an important part of her position, and she finds that both Food Flair and HOP (Healthy Opportunities for Preschoolers – LEAP BC TM) to be very user-friendly. Having a niece and nephew, she recognizes the importance of exposure to these initiatives at an early age.
Welcome to Mindy and Erica!