Nukuoro Softball Teams Promote GO LOCAL!

By Dr. Lois Englberger

Two Nukuoro softball teams, Madalama and Nukers, have decided to promote Let's Go Local. Mr. Juity Heinrich, a team coach and player for the Madalama, contacted the Island Food Community of Pohnpei (IFCP) in early September. Now the teams are making efforts to grow and consume more local food.

For their softball games, they will now be wearing LET'S GO LOCAL t-shirts.

In order to learn more about island foods and to learn how a good diet can help them be healthier and play a better game, the Madalama team members met for a training session on September 8, 2008, at the IFCP Training Center. Ms. Mihne Pretrick and Kathay Larsen, IFCP, explained the CHEEF benefits of local foods, which are Culture, Health, Economics, Environment, and Food security and talked about the relationship between eating healthy island foods and feeling good.

The Nukers group met on September 19, 2008, for a session, with Dr. Lois Englberger and Mihne Pretrick, sharing about the GO LOCAL messages. Mr. George Steven mentioned that Olympic athletes have nutrition specialists who help them eat the right thing as their diet affects how well they play.

Juity Heinrich wrote this:

We challenge all softball players in the "Nutrena League" to try and GO LOCAL…

Thanks are again extended to the New Zealand Embassy for funding and Pohnpei Arts and Crafts for the t-shirts. So let's go local and have a great softball season!