SAMBAA K'E/TROUT LAKE
Traditional teas and fruit smoothies were in and pop and sugary drinks were out as students at Charles Tetcho School shared what they've learned about healthy eating.

Valerie Lamalice picks a prize after her name was drawn during the nutritional scavenger hunt. All of the prizes were healthy food items. - photo courtesy of Charles Tetcho School

The school hosted a community Nutrition Fair April 3 as a conclusion to its participation in the Drop the Pop campaign. Approximately half of the community, 45 people, came for the caribou soup and bannock and stayed to complete activities at six different booths and participate in a nutritional scavenger hunt.

This was the largest nutritional fair that's been held in the community. People enjoyed it, particularly winning healthy food prizes in the scavenger hunt, said Yvonne Jumbo, a traditional language instructor at the school.

"It was a success," said Lynn MacFadyen, a teacher at the school.

The campaign was incorporated into the student's curriculum including health and math. Before the fair, the 19 students studied nutrition and topics including obesity, diabetes and caffeine.

The students also went to the local store and read food labels to compare and contrast the sugar, carbohydrates and protein in different drinks, such as natural orange juice versus Sunny D, and foods. Much of their new knowledge was incorporated into the fair including posters, some translated into Dene Zhatie, that adorned the walls.

"What's healthy and what's not," is what people learned at the fair, said Jada Lamalice.

Water is one thing the 11-year-old learned about while preparing for the fair.

"It has no sugar, no fat, no caffeine and no calories," she said.

Water and milk are both healthy drink choices, but some yogurt drinks aren't because they have a lot of sugar, she said.

Drinking a berry smoothie and having mint tea were Lamalice's favourite parts of the fair. The tea tasted the best, she said.

"I think it was good," Faith Deneron said about the event.

While getting ready for the fair Deneron, 11, said she learned about how to read nutrition labels and understand percentages. Pop is not a good thing to drink, "because it has too much sugar," she said.

The scavenger hunt was pretty easy, Lamalice said. Participants found the answers while completing the different tasks at each booth like putting drinks in order from highest to lowest sugar content.

All of the posters and information from the fair were left on the community gym's walls during Trout Lake's Ndu Tah Carnival for maximum exposure. Some people are already saying the fair should be held again.