‘Food can be so powerful’: La Jolla Country Day club produces magazine on nutritional eating

A new club at La Jolla Country Day School is looking to raise awareness of the benefits of a healthy diet for mental and emotional health.

The Food Effect Club, founded by Country Day junior Angela Qian, produces a magazine with articles about the benefits of a healthy diet and the various impacts food has on one’s well-being. It also aims to coordinate volunteer opportunities for students to distribute meals.

“When I was young, I had this passion for baking,” Angela said. “That passion brought me to explore chemistry and other sciences in high school. From there, I started to get interested in the field of nutrition. We learned about how diet can impact our lives, and I was shocked to learn what nutrients could do for our bodies. I wanted to bring awareness to the effects that nutrient intake and diet can have on our minds and bodies.”

Soon, she got six friends to join her, and they got to work to produce a magazine about nutrition and what a healthy diet can do for mental health. It also includes restaurant recommendations and more.

Two issues of the magazine, called Food Effect, have been produced so far, distributed at libraries and other public places.

“I was so excited to see that the magazines had all been picked up,” Angela said. “We want to get the message out there and raise awareness. People often eat the way they do to create a physique they want, but there are other effects as well. It can be hard to understand that.”

In addition to the magazine, the club volunteers with Ronald McDonald House Charities, which serves families whose children are hospitalized. Through its meal service, the families receive hot, nutritious food to give them “the chance to relax and connect with others before the next day starts,” according to the organization.

Members of the Food Effect Club show copies of the magazine the club produces.

(Provided by Angela Qian)

“We were very inspired by what they were doing, so the Food Effect Club volunteers with them to serve meals on a monthly basis,” Angela said.

The club had a fundraiser for Ronald McDonald House in San Diego and collected $3,579, which was given to the organization in March.

Angela said the club wants to continue to serve meals to people in need and expand the number of organizations it helps.

The club also wants to improve the magazine so it can reach a broader audience.

“We’re trying to focus on finding out what people want or need to know and writing about those things,” Angela said. “We’re really hoping to raise awareness and consider all aspects of the role food plays in our lives. We want to spread the knowledge of the effects food can have on us. Food can be so powerful.” ◆