IUP hosting National Nutrition Month events, including wheelchair rugby nutritionist

INDIANA, Pa. — The Student Association of Nutrition and Dietetics at Indiana University of Pennsylvania has organized several events to celebrate National Nutrition Month in March, including a smoothie sale, crockpot cook-off competition and a program with a nationally known speaker.

This year’s theme for National Nutrition Month is “Fuel up for the Future.”

The month’s celebration begins with a smoothie sale on March 8 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. outside the Hadley Union Building gymnasium. Smoothies with banana, coconut and spinach will be $2.

The soup crockpot cook-off, which is open to spectators, will be held March 22 from 3 to 5 p.m. at the Hadley Union Building Susquehanna room. For a $2 donation, persons may sample the entries and vote for a favorite.

Community members can also join the competition and present a soup. This year, competitors are challenged to include a whole grain in their soup.

To make an entry into the competition, persons should email rxtbc@iup. edu.

All proceeds from the cook-off event will be donated to the IUP Food Pantry and Help Center, which provides food, toiletries and some clothing items to IUP students in need.

The final event for the month is a presentation by Liz Dunn, MS, RD, LDN, who will speak on “Adaptive Sports: Similarities and Differences in Sport and Nutrition” on March 29 at 7 p.m. in Jane Leonard Hall room 126. Dunn is a research associate on spinal cord injuries for the University of Pittsburgh. She is also one of the first women to represent the USA at the Wheelchair Rugby World Championships.

Dunn, a graduate of Warren Area High School who makes her home in Pittsburgh, has competed all over the world in the sport of wheelchair rugby. She began playing wheelchair rugby with the Pittsburgh Steelwheelers club in 2013 and also played with the Texas Stampede. She was invited to join the national team in 2020.