PROGRAMS

AUNI's programming fits into four general categories.

1. Integrated School Day Nutrition Education and Academically-Based Community Service
   
   Through Eat. Right. Now., the School District of Philadelphia's Comprehensive Nutrition Education Program, AUNI conducts nutrition education programs in 20 Philadelphia public schools. The primary focus of Eat. Right. Now. is on increasing the nutrition knowledge of K-12 students.
   
   AUNI incorporates as many hands-on components (such as monthly healthy food tastings of seasonal, local foods such as peaches, apples, and strawberries) into this program as possible.  In many cases, university students enrolled in nutrition-related service-learning courses, work with public school students to explore and address specific nutrition-related issues in the community.
   
   
2. Increasing Access to Healthy Foods
   
   AUNI engages young people in organizing better choices for their communities through school and community-based efforts.  Through AUNI, public school students work to improve lunchroom choices and operate after-school fruit stands. AUNI also works with public school students to help neighborhood food stores create convenient healthy food stations and to operate community farmers' markets.
   
   
3. Increasing Opportunities for Participation in Regular Physical Activity
   
   Through school day, after-school and summer programs AUNI improves opportunities for youth and families to exercise regularly. AUNI works with PE teachers and school coordinators to improve exercise opportunities during PE class and recess time and, through the Netter Center for Community Partnerships’ community schools program, AUNI offers family-oriented exercise classes during evening programs.
   
   
   
4. Youth-Led Organizing, Peer Education and Internships
   
   Increasingly, people recognize the important role that youth can play as organizers of solutions to societal problems on a variety of levels; as the deliverers of social and educational services, as the developers of model programs, and as key informants to policy makers. In addition to school day peer nutrition education, AUNI coordinates job-training and youth leadership programs for high school students. The AUNI internship program engages teens in organizing better food choices in their communities by working after school for 10 hours per week and intensively during a sic-week job training program during the summer. AUNI interns combine direct service approaches, which include teaching healthy cooking classes and growing healthy foods in school gardens for sale at farmers’ markets, with advocating for broader systems change. Currently, AUNI high school interns are organizing the Youth Action Council for the Philadelphia Urban Food and Fitness Alliance (PUFFA).  They have also been highly involved in youth organizing on a regional and national level though involvement in presentations and conferences such as the Rooted In Community National Network Conference.

AWARDS

• AUNI's garden at University City High School was recognized as the "Best School Garden" by the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society in 2003, 2004, 2005, 2007 and 2008.  (We were the runner-up in 2006.)
  
  
• The University City High School garden was named most inspirational garden by the University City District in 2007.
  
  
• AUNI was recognized as "Best Year-Round Program" by Work Ready Philadelphia in 2007 and was runner-up in 2008.
  
  
• AUNI was also named an Exemplary Campus Community Partnership by Campus Compact in 2005.