Mini Healthy Heroes Challenge with Homenetmen Washington DC
By Nane Manukyan, Program Facilitator
A few weeks ago, One Thriving World had the incredible opportunity to host our very first mini Healthy Heroes Challenge with the Homenetmen Washington DC scouts at Soorp Khatch Armenian Apostolic Church. Around 20 participants, ages 12+, took part in a series of interactive activities focused on nutrition, healthy habits, and sustainable living. Throughout the two-hour workshop, the participants worked together in teams, creating a fun sense of friendly competition as they tested and expanded their knowledge of nutrition.
The program kicked off with an introductory Kahoot game featuring questions about food groups, vitamins, food substitutions, and exercise. The group collectively scored 63%, providing a strong starting benchmark while also showing room for growth. To build on these concepts, we followed with an engaging matching activity where participants paired different foods with their corresponding food groups, including carbohydrates, proteins, fats, vitamins, and minerals, helping them become more familiar with the role each group plays in maintaining a healthy lifestyle.
One of the featured activities was a healthy plate challenge designed to reinforce the importance of balanced nutrition. Each team created its own Healthy Plate using the correct proportions of different food groups. Afterward, the teams presented their plates to the group, explaining the foods they selected and identifying the food groups each item represented.
A Healthy Plate made by one of the teams including rice, steak, egg, avocado, broccoli, and tomatoes.
Another activity truly showcased the participants’ creativity and teamwork skills. Each team was challenged to create and perform an original song about vitamins. The groups selected three vitamins to feature in their songs, incorporating information about their health benefits and food sources. Using pencils, hand rhythms, and plenty of imagination, the teams came up with catchy tunes, clever rhymes, and energetic performances for the entire group.
Another favorite activity focused on reimagining traditional Armenian recipes in healthier ways. Each team selected an Armenian dish and worked together to make thoughtful substitutions or adjustments to improve its nutritional value while still preserving the spirit of the original recipe. The participants then designed their own creative cookbook pages featuring the updated recipes, ingredients, and healthy modifications.
A team’s Armenian gata cookbook page with various healthy substitution suggestions.
The final activity got everyone out of their seats and moving. The teams were tasked with building a human pyramid modeled after the food group pyramid. While the challenge may have sounded difficult at first, the participants quickly showcased their teamwork and pyramid-building skills. Each group had only a few minutes to organize and construct their pyramid, using sticky notes to label the different food group tiers.
One group’s human food group pyramid with stickie notes showing what foods should be in which part of the pyramid
To conclude the workshop, we repeated the original Kahoot game from the beginning of the program. The participants were now much more familiar with the material after engaging in the day’s activities. This time, the group scored an impressive 84%, demonstrating significant improvement in their understanding of nutrition concepts.
Although this Healthy Heroes Challenge was conducted on a smaller scale, the participants’ enthusiasm, engagement, and growth in knowledge were incredibly encouraging. Their excitement and participation demonstrated the meaningful impact that hands-on, interactive education can have on young learners.
We are incredibly excited to continue advancing the mission of One Thriving World and look forward to expanding the Healthy Heroes Challenge and creating even more opportunities for youth to learn about health, nutrition, and sustainable living in engaging and empowering ways.
