Rutgers freshman Kay Sanders will be getting his first taste of college football this fall, but on Tuesday, his teammates at Hannah's Kitchen had a different first experience.
Sanders and teammate Shaquan Royal spent Tuesday afternoon teaching healthy eating tips to kids in Newark as part of an offseason hometown trip during which the two Rutgers University football players picked ingredients, made the healthiest choices and helped their team take home prizes as part of the Brick City's first-ever Smoothie Bowl.
“I know all the kids are going to throw out some vegetables here and there, but it's absolutely worth it for their future to eat healthy, for their mind, their body, their physical and their mental health, that's what it's all about,” Sanders said.
The Rutgers players were tasked with creating their own smoothies using healthy ingredients alongside 12 other kids ages 8 to 12. Sanders' Rutgers team made a sunflower seed-rich smoothie with milk, mango and other fruits, while Royal's team made a smoothie with summer fruits and berries.
Royal, a senior defensive back, said giving back to local kids means a lot to him.
“I grew up surrounded by people who went to college and came back to Newark to help kids, so it's great,” said Royal, a former standout athlete at West Side High School. “I hope to do this in the future, too.”
The competition was born organically, as well as with input from nutritionists and organizers of Hannah's Kitchen, which offers free classes for children of diverse abilities to learn in an inclusive and adaptive kitchen. Funded by the Hannah Peretzman Breen Foundation since 2016, the classes aim to teach children how to cook with nutritious ingredients while also learning kitchen essentials like knife skills and safety.
“It's important for kids to be able to see role models that are from their communities, so it's really great to have them here today,” said Molly Fallon Dixon, a registered dietitian who helped coordinate the event with RWJBarnabas Health and Newark Beth Israel Medical Center.
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Patrick Lanni can be contacted at pranni@njadvancemedia.com.
