Austin, Texas—As part of its ongoing initiatives to help improve the health and wellness of its employees, the Austin Independent School District is teaming up with two educational nonprofit organizations to offer free, nutritional workshops to district employees.    

Staff members will have the opportunity to attend one of two, six-hour workshops on either May 9 and 10 or May 11. The free workshop, which is valued at $250, will cover such topics as how branding can shape shopping and eating habits, and provide easy-to-use strategies for making healthy choices.

AISD is offering the workshops through a partnership among AISD, the Whole Kids Foundation and FoodFight, a nonprofit organization that seeks to help teachers and students re-think their perspective on food, consumerism and health.

Austin is among only six cities in the nation selected by the two nonprofits to participate in the Teacher Wellness Program workshops, which examine the social, political and economic forces that shape what people eat and offer strategies for improving health to help empower teachers and students to make healthier, conscious choices as consumers.

“As educators, we lead by example. By learning about healthy nutritional choices, we hope our employees can not only practice good health, but be good ambassadors to their students, colleagues, family and friends about the importance of healthy choices,” Superintendent Meria Carstarphen said. “AISD is proud to partner with these two great organizations, and we encourage all AISD employees to take advantage of this great opportunity.”

The Teacher Wellness Program aims to reach 2,000 teachers and educators around the country. Other cities selected for the pilot program include Los Angeles, Boulder, Colo., and New Haven, Conn.

“Teachers have the power to profoundly influence students’ attitudes toward food and act as a powerful resource when it comes to ending our nation’s obesity epidemic,” Carolyn Cohen, co-founder of FoodFight, said. “Together with Whole Kids Foundation, our goal is to arm teachers with the critical knowledge and tools they need to change their purchasing and eating habits and become role models for their students.”

AISD staff members can sign up for the free, six-hour workshops at https://pdcecampus.austinisd.org/login.html. A free, healthy box lunch will be provided to attendees and a Whole Food’s chef will demonstrate how to cook simple, affordable and healthy meals.