Encouraging healthy eating and active behaviour among their youngest members is just one of the proactive approaches that the Hosanna World Harvest Church in Owairaka is taking with their church community.
Their preschool music group is an example of this. Each week, Tala Feletai encourages local mums and their children to come along to a fellowship group with a difference.
“At our weekly music group, we help children to have fun with instruments and to get active to music. We also promote healthy eating options such as fruit, milk and water to the children rather than providing lollies and biscuits, so that they begin forming good habits at an early age”, says Tala.
This theme runs throughout all Hosanna World Harvest Church meetings. “We encourage our community to eat smaller portions, to use less cooking oil, to grill or bake instead of frying and to drink plenty of water instead of fizzy drinks. Water is free after all!”
“Quite often it is the combination of little changes to our everyday habits that make a real difference to our health and will help us break the cycle of chronic disease that comes as a result of unhealthy eating.”
For more information about Mainly Music classes go to www.mainlymusic.org.nz or phone 09 629 6025.