FAN Program

Faith, Activity, and Nutrition Training Overview

The goal of FAN is for members to become stronger in health by increasing physical activity and healthy eating. How your church works to do this will depend on the needs and interests of your members and resources at your church or in your community. Taking steps to increase healthy eating and physical activity will require input and ideas from active members, key leaders, and those who are involved with menu planning, catering, and cooking at the church. Therefore, FAN Training is divided into two parts: FAN Committee Training and FAN Cook Training.

FAN Committee Training will assist members in developing a plan to get the message out about and provide opportunities for physical activity and healthy eating.  As part of the FAN Committee Training, members will:

  • Learn how to build physical activity and healthy eating into ongoing church events and activities
  • Learn techniques for spreading information about the importance of physical activity and healthy eating
  • Develop guidelines and practices that the Pastor can put in place to support health programs

After completing the FAN Committee Training, you will have the beginnings of a written plan that outlines specific ways to increase healthy eating and physical activity and know how to use the monthly materials provided to support the FAN program over time.

FAN Cook Training will provide cooks, lead kitchen staff, and other members who are responsible for planning menus, catering, and preparing food with the skills and resources needed to prepare healthier food options that are high in fruits, vegetables and whole grains, and lower in fat and salt. As part of the Cook Training, members will:

  • Learn tips for preparing creative and flavorful healthy meals
  • Learn about healthy eating and cooking based on the DASH Diet, DASH stands for Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension
  • Learn techniques for spreading information about healthy eating

Cooks will also learn kitchen safety procedures, food/market shopping tips, and how to make over traditional recipes. Monthly materials are also provided to assist cooks in supporting healthy eating over the course of FAN.

Working to create a healthier church where all members are encouraged to increase healthy eating and physical activity takes teamwork! This teamwork  will allow for brainstorming, sharing ideas, and choosing activities that will work best for your church or group. It is important that members complete the FAN Committee Training and that lead kitchen staff complete the FAN Cook Training in order to lay the groundwork for a fruitful FAN plan of action!