Selecting three winners from our amaZing pool of our first annual Zing Nutrition Grants submissions was no easy task, believe us! We received over 60 entries and were truly blown away by the amaZing ideas that each entrant shared with us.
When it came down to it, the finalists all embodied an entrepreneurial spirit that was larger than their specific project. All three winners are passionate about nutrition, have dedicated themselves to broadening nutritional awareness in their communities (and beyond), and they are clearly committed to seeing their vision come to fruition. And without further ado, the winners of the Zing Nutrition Grants are…
- Jodi Danen, RDN and owner of Create Kids Club™, is awarded $1,000 to bring her childhood nutrition education club’s products and services to life. Her first project with Create Kids Club is the launch of Lunch Bites™ lunch box cards - these cards get kids laughing and learning at lunch! Jodi’s cards feature positive sayings, acts of kindness, recipes, jokes and fun food facts; all are food and nutrition-themed. As a former foodservice director of an elementary school, Jodi believes that a school cafeteria can be used as a learning vehicle for healthy eating just as the classroom does for other studies. Jodi is launching Lunch Bites this month to lunch boxes across the world and intends to use grant funding toward printing and marketing costs. As Jodi says, they’re “…the only treat a lunch box needs!”
- Rebecca Bitzer, MS, RDN, LD, CEDRD and owner of Rebecca Bitzer & Associates, has been awarded $500 to help fund her plan to train new dietitians on establishing a private practice. Rebecca has the experience to do so – she has been in private practice for nearly 30 years and employs eight RDNs. She aims to use grant funds to increase the success and business-savvy of future private practice RDNs by sharing training materials and conducting business-focused training sessions with dietetics students and interns in the DC-metro area. According to Rebecca: “If we can, as a profession, provide future RDNs with critical business skills, we can have a lasting impact on nutrition and health and greater reach when these future registered dietitians set up their own thriving nutrition counseling practices.”
- Mascha Davis MPH, RDN, owner of Nomadista Nutrition, spent the past five years working in humanitarian aid, mostly in Africa, with a focus on the treatment and prevention of childhood malnutrition. Since her return, she gives talks and writes about her time abroad, educating future dietitians about the pressing issues that we can address from here at home. Mascha is awarded $500 to help fund the creation of her e-book debunking nutrition myths and conveying what it means to truly eat healthily and sustainably. She will enlighten on how to make an impact on our food systems both locally and globally. Keep an eye on Mascha’s blog and her partner site, WellSeek, as her e-book will develop from a series of articles and blog posts over the next several months. “At the core of my company,” Mascha shares, “is a commitment to social impact.”
