Alphabet Appetite class spells fun ways for kids to learn about healthy diets

Feature story for the Lifestyle section of The Commercial Appeal

March 18, 2009

On the drive from our house in East Memphis to Downtown, we pass about 14 Taco Bells. My 2-year-old daughter, Genevieve, wants to stop at every one of them. Due to gestational cravings, she was born with a taste for the 99-cent menu.

This night, however, she and I are headed to the Hope and Healing Center at 1115 Union for a childhood nutrition class.

The nutrition education classes for children are available to a variety of age ranges and at times convenient to the workout schedule of their parents. The class we are attending is Alphabet Appetite, for children ages 2 to 5. The class is the brainchild of Laurie Holt, 23, who began working with Hope and Healing last April as an intern and was asked to develop the class in July. She has been teaching it ever since as a staff member … (read more)