Troy Students Advocate for Healthy Eating at HOSA Leadership Conference in Traverse City
(Eunah Kim and Ananya Anand with Cherie W. Rolfe)
Troy, MI – Nutrition isn’t optional—it’s vital. And too many people, especially children and under-served families, don’t have access to the knowledge or the resources to eat well. That was the motivation for the “Healthy Bites” campaign developed by two students from Troy High School and presented in a state-wide competition in Traverse City over the Easter weekend.
Eunah Kim and Ananya Anand, both freshmen, put together a community-based program that focused on healthy eating and included a canned food drive, social media outreach, and a nutritious cooking workshop. The competition was part of their participation in HOSA, Health Occupations Students of America. They competed against 36 other groups from around the state. Over 8,000 people attended the state leadership conference.
According to its website, “HOSA provides a unique program of leadership development, motivation, and recognition exclusively for secondary, postsecondary, middle school, adult, and collegiate students enrolled in health science education and biomedical science programs or have interests in pursuing careers in health professions.”
“The campaign wasn’t just a project to me. It was personal. Over the summer, I was diagnosed with severe anemia. I could barely walk without losing my breath. My body was drained, weak. A simple injury would take forever to heal. I underwent multiple iron infusions to recover. One major reason? I wasn’t getting enough protein—and the protein I did consume wasn’t nourishing me in the right way. That experience opened my eyes to how much diet can affect your health.” Ananya said.
“Personally, I learned a lot from this and we impacted 19,430 individuals from the Troy community, plus five other countries!” said Eunah. Also, she was surprised to find out that malnutrition causes 24,600 deaths every day around the world, and that 45% of deaths in children under five are linked to this issue. “That was our call to action,” Eunah said.
Eunah and Ananya, who have been involved with HOSA since the beginning of the 2024-25 school year, began working on the “Healthy Bites” campaign back in October 2024 with informational flyers and social media outreach on Instagram and YouTube. They launched a website that featured types of diets, essential nutrients, and even easy and healthy recipes.
They also held a Zoom workshop and a Healthy Bites Culinary Event with 26 participants. They started with a short and brief presentation on essential nutrients before competing in a hands-on cooking challenge.
They hope to host another cooking challenge in the future with a wider variety of ingredients and increased participation.
One of their biggest events, a community workshop, was held in November at the Troy Community Center with 36 participants. They partnered with students at Smith Middle School, who helped spread the word about the event through announcements and in Schoology updates. They also used social media accounts to promote the event to followers. On the day of the event, they started with an interactive presentation with Kahoot at the end to make sure everyone was engaged. Then they moved on to a scavenger hunt to further help increase the knowledge of the audience through a fun game.
Feedback showed that the audience walked away with more confidence in making better food choices and appreciated the focus on balance over restriction. Looking ahead, they plan to expand globally, grow the workshops, and even launch new initiatives like a healthy smoothie sale to further engage people in mindful eating.
Another significant event, a food drive, was held on the week before the winter break, hoping it would be able to help those in need to have a warmer winter. They were able to have 74 out of 80 sixth-hour classrooms participate enthusiastically, demonstrating a strong commitment to community service. They collected 540 non-perishable cans, amounting to 367 pounds of food. This donation translated to 275 meals to those in need.
“Through Healthy Bites, I wanted to show others, especially teens, that nutrition isn’t just about looking good, it’s about feeling strong and staying healthy. I learned that when you speak from experience, people really listen. In the future, I hope to expand the program, partner with local health initiatives, and keep using my story to inspire real change in how we approach food and wellness. Although our 2024-2025 HOSA journey stopped, our Healthy Bites journey won’t,” Ananya said.
“Healthy Bites didn’t just spread awareness—it made a difference.”
More info:
HOSA: Health Occupations Students of America
