The World Health Organization describes nutrition as “a critical part of health and development” and wrote adequate nutrition is important for a multitude of reasons, including its strong link to longevity and healthy immune systems. CulinArt’s Southern California regional dietitian Carrie Gabriel hosted Archer’s second wellness table in the courtyard during lunch Thursday, Jan. 18, where she was available to both answer any questions students had about nutrition and help them create their own, well-rounded snack mixes.
Gabriel has been working with CulinArt for almost a year. She said she became a dietitian because she felt wellness was heavily based on the messages being put out by social media and the entertainment industry, which didn’t always allow for people to get the nutritional information they needed.
“Really, where [wellness] starts is in the education of why fruit has natural sugar and chocolate chips don’t, or what have you,” Gabriels said. “I think it’s important to educate and teach people — especially our youth — more about preventative nutrition so that they can live long, healthy lives.”
Director of Dining Services Megan Lambert was hired by CulinArt to work at Archer for the servery’s launch in 2019. She said the main goals of the wellness table were to increase CulinArt staff engagement with the Archer community and promote education surrounding nutrition within the student body.
“There is so much information out there, but not all of it is 100% accurate, or maybe people aren’t being 100% truthful in what they’re pushing forward in regards to nutrition and wellness,” Lambert said. “I think it’s really important to put all the information out there and make it as accessible to everyone, no matter their background or anything like that, so that the information is out there for everybody, and everybody has the power to make the changes that they’re able to.”
Freshman Beyla Patil said the wellness table and similar events centered around health serve as helpful reminders for students to prioritize their nutrition. Patil was a member of Archer’s varsity tennis team in fall 2023 and said nourishment plays a significant role in overall athletic performance, across all sports and levels.
“You, of course, need to have good nutrition before you go out and play so that you’re well-energized and can keep your strength up throughout the entire match,” Patil said.
The options for the wellness table’s snack mixes included pretzels, chocolate chips, pumpkin seeds, raisins and Cheerios. Gabriel said CulinArt deliberately chooses the ingredients to consist of healthy fats, whole grains and high fibers. She and Lambert both emphasized the importance of well-rounded and balanced eating, especially for students as they are growing and developing.
“It’s important to fuel your body with the proper food because that’s going to dictate how you feel every single day, all day,” Gabriels said. “Not to say that you can’t ever have junk food, but in general, knowing about nutrition and being able to say, ‘Okay, I had a healthy lunch, I’m going to have a cookie and then I’m going to have a healthy dinner,’ and understanding what that means, what a well-rounded meal [looks like] and what it means to feel satisfied from eating are all really important.”
