Crime & Safety
Silver Spring Community to Help Volunteer Firefighters Get in Shape
Whole Foods Market, Pacers and YMCA team up to give Wheaton Rescue a health makeover
A community partnership, comprised of the Silver Spring , Running Store and the Silver Spring have teamed up to help the volunteers at the Wheaton Rescue 2 learn about healthy cooking and eating, the importance of exercise and the opportunity to enter Silver Spring’s April 30 Earth Day 5K for no cost.
On Thursday, March 3, more than a dozen volunteers from Wheaton Rescue 2 toured the Whole Foods Market with Healthy Eating Specialist Eric Rohr, and learned quite a bit about making better food choices.
Firefighter Shoshana Moskowitz was excited about the opportunity “I hope we can get tips to improve, like how to cook better meals both at the station and to incorporate with our families.”
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Rohr walked the group through the different sections of the store, explaining how to make better choices: using ANDI scores to evaluate the nutritional value of different foods; the importance of selecting whole grains (brown rice, whole wheat flower), rather than processed gains (white rice, white flower); and how to interpret nutritional labels to better understand what is in their diets and including a wide range of food types in their diets.
Volunteer Calvin Lee, who is a practicing vegan, was hoping to learn how to cook meals that reheat easily. “In our line of work, we can get a call at any time, and need to be flexible with our meals,” he said.
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In addition to the educational store tour, Whole Foods Market gave the station the Engine 2 Diet book, a $99 pantry makeover and $200 in gift cards to stock it with healthy ingredients. The YMCA are providing the firefighters with a month-long pass to their exercise facilities and Pacers is offering them free registration to the Earth Day 5K to show off their progress.
The volunteer firefighters will also receive some in-station cooking lessons, additional sessions with Eric Rohr and will meet with the staff of Pacers.
Patch will continue to monitor the progress of Wheaton Rescue 2 in the coming weeks, culminating with a “Biggest Loser” style weigh-in and cookout at Whole Foods Market.
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