VIDEO TRANSCRIPT: National Nutrition Month is fueling healthy futures in Central New York
Mandi Shovlin: March isn’t only about leprechauns and spring break vacations, it’s also National Nutrition Month. It’s a time to reflect on our healthy habits, or possibly a time to learn new ones. Kay Stearns Bruning, the associate dean of the College of Sport and Human Dynamics at Syracuse University, says our lack of nutritional education could have deadly consequences.
Kay Stearns Bruning: A lot of people don’t really think about or pay attention to their nutrition. Seven of the 10 leading causes of death in the United States are nutrition related. It’s probably something that we all want to pay attention to. So if we can get the message out there to try to eat more fresh, whole local foods that will go a long way towards improving nutrition in the community, we have a very progressive food bank for Central New York.
Shovlin: The Central New York Food Bank serves over 11 counties. Debra Mimaroglu, the community nutrition manager for the food bank, says National Nutrition Month may help expose unexpected problems.
Debra Mimaroglu: When people are fed, they do better. Where the issue is, there’s access to those foods. A lot of these people have this information and they know what a healthy diet is really. It’s more about, empowering them because they have the knowledge and also giving them some exposure to maybe some different recipes or foods they haven’t tried before. So just increasing that access to food and people being able to have food will help improve or at least a start to improve our community.
Shovlin: Registered dietitian and founder of Eat Guilt Free, Mariana Serback echoes the awareness National Nutrition Month presents uncomplicated them by showing them what that looks like in the foods that they have access to.
Mariana Serback: Being very clear and not demonizing like, oh, but watch out. Like there’s sugar in that. And so it’s either it’s added sugar or it’s no fruit at all. Really encouraging them and empowering them to build that knowledge and that self-efficacy within themselves.
SYRACUSE, N.Y. (NCC NEWS) – With a month full of leprechauns and spring breakers, March is also National Nutrition Month.
It is a time to reflect on our healthy habits, or even maybe a lack thereof. Throughout the Central New York area, several charitable organizations and non-profits look to host events for the month. The goal of these events is to educate the surrounding community about the importance of nuritent dense foods and how to prepare them.
Debra Mimaroglu has been leading the charge during the month of March for the Food Bank of Central New York.
“When people are fed, they do better,” said Mimaroglu. “Where the issue is, there’s access to those foods. A lot of these people have this information and they know what a healthy diet is really.”
According to Mimaroglu, the issue at hand may be less about eduacating but more about accessibility.
In the surrounding area, the Food Bank of Central New York serves over 11 counties. © 2025 Mandi Shovlin
“It’s more about empowering them because they have the knowledge and also giving them some exposure to maybe some different recipes or foods they haven’t tried before,” said Mimaroglu. “So just increasing that access to food and people being able to have food will help improve our at least a start to improve our community.”
Registered dietitian and founder of Eat Guilt Free, Mariana Serback echoes the awareness of National Nutrition Month.
“Being very clear and not demonizing like, oh, but watch out,” said Serback. “Like there’s sugar in that. And so it’s either it’s added sugar or it’s no fruit at all. Really encouraging them and empowering them to build that knowledge and that self-efficacy within themselves.”
During March the food bank hosts events to educate the community on proper nutrition. © 2025 Mandi Shovlin
As 7 out of 10 deaths in America are nutrition-related, it is more important than ever to gear efforts towards encouraging the public to take their health into their own hands.
Kay Stearns Bruning, the associate dean of the College of Sport and Human Dynamics at Syracuse University, believes one of the biggest benefits of a month dedicated to nutrition is simply honing in on basic, digestible lessons.
“It’s probably something that we all want to pay attention to,” said Bruning. “So if we can get the message out there to try to eat more fresh, whole local foods that will go a long way towards improving nutrition in the community.”
Many health professionals look to promte whole grains, fruits and vegitables during the month of March. © 2025 Mandi Shovlin