March Is National Nutrition Month: Source Healthy Recipes, Donate to Nighthawk Nest

March 6, 2024 / Get Well

March is National Nutrition Month! During the month of March, the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics invites us to learn more about making informed food choices, developing healthy eating habits and building physical activity routines.

The theme for 2024 is “Beyond the Table,” which is all about choices. Making healthy choices extends beyond selecting nutritious foods and beverages. In fact, healthy choices should take into how account how we eat, where and how our food is grown, and how our meals are prepared. The choices we make daily can make a big difference, both now and in the future.

Join NOVA’s Office of Employee Wellness and Wellbeing (OEWW) over the next few weeks as we look further into:

Accessing personalized nutritional guidance to support healthy and affordable food choices.
How meal planning and safe food prep can help reduce food waste and lower your grocery bill.
What it means to “eat with the environment in mind.”

Consider the Following for National Nutrition Month:

Visit NOVA’s Healthy Nutrition Padlet to take a recipe — or leave one that you and your family enjoy!
Contribute to the Nighthawk Nest Food Pantry during the Employee Wellness March Food Drive. The mission of NOVA’s food and personal care pantries is to provide students, faculty and staff with easy, on-campus access to free food and personal care products. NOVA is committed to fighting hunger and food insecurity so that our students can focus, get better grades, and maintain good physical and mental health. Healthy eating requires access to a variety of nutritious foods from all food groups (fruits, vegetables, grains, proteins and dairy) in the recommended amounts and within calorie limits. Please share generously, guided by the list of high-need items in the chart below. There are members of our NOVA community in need, and you can make a difference.

Campus	Dropoff Location(s)	Dropoff Times	High-Need Items	Food Drive Liaison(s)
AN	CA-105	M–F: 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.	Toiletries & personal items (feminine products, diapers, baby supplies, deodorant, toothpaste, etc.) Ready-to-heat/eat meals Grab-and-go snacks or meals	La’Tonia White, LMWhite@nvcc.edu
AL	AA-134 or AA-129	M, W, F: 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. Th: 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.	Personal care items & toiletries (diapers, mini deodorants, etc.) Juices Ready meals Single-serving snacks (to-go peanut butter, hummus cups, chips, etc.) Snacks (applesauce cups, granola bars, fruit snacks, etc.) Reusable bags Refrigerator is available.	Octavia Young, OYoung@nvcc.edu
LO	LR-236A	M–F: 9 a.m. – 4 p.m.	Ready-to-eat meals Condiments Protein (e.g., canned fish) Bread Grab-and-go snacks or meals	Ly Nguyen, LYNguyen@nvcc.edu
MA	MH-108	M–F: 9 a.m. – 4 p.m.	Ready-to-eat meals (ramen noodles, mac & cheese, oatmeal, microwavable soups, cold meals, etc.) Snacks Grab-and-go snacks or meals Refrigerator is available.	Daphne Carter-McCants, RCarterMcCants@nvcc.edu Taylor Campbell, TCampbell@nvcc.edu
MEC	HE-116	M–F: 9 a.m. – 4 p.m.	Personal care items & toiletries Grab-and-go snacks or meals Packaged nuts & trail mix Jelly Refrigerator is available.	Pat Martin-Mattocks, PMartinMattocks@nvcc.edu
WO	Student Life Office, WS-158	M, W: 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. Tu, Th: 1 p.m. – 3:30 p.m. F: 11:30 a.m. – 3:30 p.m.	Personal care items Ready-to-heat/ready meals (e.g., instant noodles, frozen meals, etc.)	Antonia “Toni” De Luz, ADeLuz@nvcc.edu
Pender*	Pender 3 Lobby (3924) Pender 4 Lobby (3922)	M–F: 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.	Toiletries & personal items (feminine products, diapers, baby supplies, deodorant, toothpaste, etc.) Ready-to-heat/eat meals Grab-and-go snacks or meals	Dahlia Henry-Tett, DHTett@nvcc.edu Regina Sanders, RLSanders@nvcc.edu Diana Vazquez, DVazquez@nvcc.edu

*Note: Donations will be accepted until March 29.

Submitted by:
Dahlia Henry-Tett, Chief Wellness Officer (CWO), employeewellbeing@nvcc.edu