The Office for Community and Civic Engagement at UNC Pembroke will soon launch a service initiative focused on teaching healthy dietary habits using local foods.

The program focuses on encouraging healthy lifestyles through breaking generational cooking habits seen heavily within traditional meals. Robeson County faces high levels of obesity and other health risks related to eating habits.  

This coupled with high poverty rates can make it difficult for individuals to maintain a healthy lifestyle.  Student service leaders in the Office for Community and Civic Engagement want to address these needs by utilizing student volunteers through an outreach program to youth. 

Ray Scott, owner of Scott’s Tire Pros and Service Center in Pembroke, learned about the new program and presented the student leaders with a $1,000 check to help launch the program. 

The funds were raised through Scott’s Tire Pros annual 'Put The Brakes on Hunger' fundraiser held in October. The Trend-setting Healthy Traditional Habits program will launch in the spring of 2020 at local high schools.  High school participants will receive educational sessions on healthy food preparation, as well as reinvented recipe cards for their favorite foods. The goal is to encourage healthy eating, and sustainable food development, and demonstrate how simple changes in the cooking process can eliminate a lot of the unhealthy aspects of traditional meals.