Canton (GA) – Josefina Arvizu-Villela, WIC Nutritionist and Georgia Department of Public Health Dietetic Intern, believes in promoting healthy eating.

“It’s time to become more conscious about eating healthy,” Arvizu-Villela said, “and that means making healthier choices at the grocery store and learning how to prepare food in a healthy way.”

Arvizu-Villela, through North Georgia Health District 1-2 of the Georgia Department of Public Health and its Women, Infants and Children (WIC) program, conducted a "Share our Strength” and “Cooking Matters” tour on October 22 at the Kroger Store on Marietta Highway in Canton. Arvizu-Villela’s tour, attended by several local families, provided information about healthy eating, including how to read food labels, compare unit pricing, find whole foods and other important information that families can use while shopping.

The families were also taught how to save money when buying healthy foods and how to prepare healthy meals the smart and inexpensive way.

“Some people are telling me they don’t eat a healthy diet or provide healthy meals to their families because they don’t know how to cook in a healthy way, and they also feel eating healthy is expensive and time-consuming,” said Arvizu-Villela. “Through this tour, participants are learning how to eat well on a budget and how to prepare meals ahead of time so they can avoid making unhealthy or expensive food choices when crunched for time.”

Arvizu-Villela said this tour was also an opportunity to highlight Food Day, which occurred on October 24 and is intended to inspire Americans to change their diets and food policies. Read more about Food Day at www.foodday.org.

Arvizu-Villela’s tour has made a difference.

“Before the tour, I didn’t know I could afford healthy foods or how to prepare nutritious meals for my children,” said Maria Gonzales of Canton, a tour participant. “Today, I learned much about how I can make good, affordable food choices and how I can cook healthy meals for my family.”