Chopping Veggies & Changing Lives: From Student Nutrition to Teacher Well-being with Lisa Dee Gonzales

What happens when we prioritize the well-being of those who care for our children?

In this episode, Lisa Dee Gonzalez, Senior Health Promotion Coordinator at the University of Colorado School of Public Health, shares how school wellness programs can support both student nutrition and teacher well-being.

Through initiatives like the School Wellness Program and Fostering Resilience in Early Education, Lisa illustrates how small, evidence-based changes—like healthy recipe cards in corner stores or walking pads for teachers—can ripple through school communities.

Sustainable change doesn’t require big budgets or complex plans. Simple actions like leadership recognition, brief movement breaks, and truly listening to educators can shift school culture. As Lisa says, “Teachers want to be heard.”

For school leaders, educators, and parents, this episode offers practical strategies to build healthier, more resilient schools—starting with the people at their center.

Connect with Lisa: lisa.d.gonzales@cuanschutz.edu | LinkedIn

Learn more about the RMPRC School Wellness Programs and gain access to free resources. 

Chapters

• 0:00 Welcome and Guest Introduction
• 2:24 SNAP-Ed School Wellness Programs
• 4:30 Nutrition Education Outcomes
• 6:19 Schools' Role in Health Culture
• 7:58 Teacher Burnout and Secondary Trauma
• 11:11 Supporting Educator Mental Health
• 15:33 Where to Start with Staff Wellness
• 20:13 Final Insights on Supporting Educators
• 26:35 Simple Wellness Strategies and Resources

Transcript

Amy: 0:00

Hi everybody and welcome back to TAUGHT. Today's guest is someone deeply committed to advancing health and resilience in early childhood education through workplace mental health initiatives and burnout prevention and programs that support well-being and positive workplace culture. Today we have Lisa D Gonzalez. Lisa has worked at the University of Colorado School of Public Health for eight years. She supports two key initiatives through the Rocky Mountain Prevention Research Center, the School Wellness Program and the Fostering Resilience in Early Education Program. She's recently received a pilot grant to expand her research and her work with fostering resilience in early childhood education to work with migrant and seasonal Head Start centers in other parts of Colorado. Lisa, welcome.

Amy: 0:47

Thank you for having me.

Amy: 0:49

Yes, I'm super excited to dive in. I would love for you to share more about the programs and a bit about SNAP-Ed. What do you find about the integration between what public health is and what education needs? How do you see those puzzle pieces fitting together?

Lisa: 1:11

So SNAP-Ed is the educational piece of SNAP. Snap refers to Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. It's a federal food assistance program and provides families with money to purchase food. And so our program we provide education. We do lots of family workshops at the schools and we talk about nutritious eating and meals on a budget, reading labels on certain items and really limiting sugary beverages. And screen time.

Lisa: 1:36

Screen time has been big since we had COVID and so just providing an overall sense of nutrition and physical activity has been really big, and so it's really vital for our preschoolers. But then we needed to expand and make sure that we're implementing kindergarten through fifth grade and giving them the education and tools and the information about being physically active and limiting sugary beverages and choosing more nutritious snack. I'll also mention we've done a lot with corner stores working with corner stores and taking items that they have in their store and creating recipes and that way when families go into these corner stores they can pick up a recipe card. The materials and the food they need are in the store, so they're not having to go around town, especially if they don't have transportation. We're really trying to meet our community where they are. That's been really fun the last couple of years.

Amy: 2:31

A lot of communities don't have a fresh market easily accessible. There's so many components of your work and I know we'll talk about the educator side of it later on but I love that you are addressing these important pieces of student wellness and parent training, creating a school system where kids are functioning optimally. Parents feel good about sending their kids to school and it makes life a little bit easier on teachers as well. Starting at preschool, when habits are formed, it's so important Everything from nutrition to movement and exercise all important puzzle pieces. What are some of the outcomes that you have found or seen through this work?

Lisa: 3:16

We're seeing change through our program and through our efforts reaching out to communities all over the state of Colorado, which is exciting. We're having families tell us we tried this recipe and our kiddos are eating more fruits and vegetables or they're choosing infused water over juice, and we're seeing changes being made. And it's so amazing when you have a teacher email you and say today so-and-so tried broccoli or they tried carrots, and even families, when families are telling you we're not drinking pop. Every day we're trying infused water. We know from our surveys and from our outreach efforts that the education piece is making a difference.

Amy: 3:56

That's so encouraging Education and empowerment and showing them that it doesn't have to be this huge overhaul all at once. You know, I think that at first parents sometimes feel overwhelmed, but when you break it down, like you said, let's just try one new vegetable this week and let's see how that goes.

Lisa: 4:14

Yeah, exactly and I'll say with our school community wellness program, once a month we deliver a nutrition lesson so the kids are having the hands-on experience of cutting the foods and washing the vegetables and the fruit and then putting a recipe together. So we know that when they're involved with those efforts then they're more willing to try it. And then we send home a family letter so families get to see what the kiddos did in class and they get a recipe to take home. We've incorporated more food and mood, being mindful of what they're eating, and we've seen such great success with this program.

Amy: 4:49

That's incredible. And what kid doesn't love chopping vegetables and cooking? That's so fun for children. What is the role of schools in shaping environments where everybody can be healthy, where the kids are eating healthy, where the staff feel empowered to take care of themselves? If we think about what education has been like historically, and maybe not so focused on these aspects of well-being, what needs to happen In?

Lisa: 5:17

Any setting, especially with schools, it's the culture, and so if you have staff that are motivated and feeling excited about health and wellness, then it really trickles down to the students and to other staff. We've seen a big increase in community gardens, so a lot of our schools are incorporating gardens. You can then invite your families to come and it can just really become this positive culture throughout the school and you can have other community members. We have a school in Pueblo. They reached out to local farmers who came and they did education around farming and how they grow produce and what happens from the farm. Then where does it go? And so kiddos are getting this extra education around farm to table and so just really building that positive culture and creating positive relationships. And we've seen that when leadership takes that role and they say, okay, this is important, this is what we're going to focus on, especially around staff, then you see the whole atmosphere changes, the environment changes and it just becomes so positive Culture is the big piece.

Amy: 6:24

Absolutely. Well, let's switch gears and address another important component, which is teacher wellness. As I know, you know, educators have one of the highest burnout rate out of any profession. Given that you were in education yourself before you became a public health professional, I'm curious did you ever experience burnout in your career?

Lisa: 6:46

When I think back, I loved what I did so much, but there's a lot. There is just so much behind the scenes, lesson planning and secondary trauma. You have kiddos who are coming from homes that maybe aren't safe. They're coming from a lot of trauma themselves and as educators we take that on and that can be so stressful and be very overwhelming. We had some families that were having a really hard time and we try not to take that on ourselves. But how do you not, when you are loving these children and giving 100% to what you do?

Amy: 7:21

I appreciate you bringing up secondary trauma, because I think that's a point that we don't talk about often enough, but it is something that is experienced by nearly anyone who cares deeply for kids, and it's around them day in and day out. At some point you're going to absorb that, and that's why it's so important to talk about how we can protect the mental health of the people who are there day in and day out taking care of our kiddos. If someone in the education world is feeling like they're burning out or like they are carrying this heavy burden of compassion fatigue, how does that impact their ability to take care of themselves and, in turn, take care of their families and their students?

Lisa: 8:04

Yeah, it's hard. We've seen it through our research and through literature that burnout is real and if it's not addressed it can lead to high turnover and it can lead to certain health conditions. So it's important to address burnout and stress in the workplace and especially in smaller communities. Workplace and especially in smaller communities, there's only so many people that they can reach out to or see. Feeling like I can't work on my mental health or my well-being because I may know somebody that I may have to speak with about personal issues, or they may know somebody that knows somebody in my family, or the fear of being talked about in these smaller communities.

Lisa: 8:45

We've had this come up a lot in mental health. Just a lot of educators do not like that word. So when we try to stay away from using mental health, it just has this negative kind of aura around it. But really switching the thoughts, it's okay to feel a certain way using the employee assistance program or reaching out to someone outside of your community, maybe look at what resources are available in another community. So we did see that.

Amy: 9:12

That's a really good point. It's interesting how language can turn us off to a conversation. I remember a few years ago well, it was right around COVID times and everybody was talking about self-care. But then it was shortly after that where self-care just became a trigger for so many people. I don't want to hear that I need to implement more self-care when I am stuck in this toxic environment, and so I'm curious how you are balancing the personal ownership taking initiative to seek out supports when you need it with not placing the burden of burnout on an individual educator. Oh yeah, that's tough.

Lisa: 9:56

I feel like with our position, meeting them where they are and so, if they're not ready, you know, like you said, they don't want to hear like you need to take care of yourself but instead really providing tools and saying this is what I can offer you.

Lisa: 10:10

This is something you are more than welcome to try and not putting the pressure on them, but just giving them the supports and the tools and the resources that, if they did decide to reach out or do an online breathing technique, that they have that toolkit and really just meeting staff where they are.

Lisa: 10:27

We've had some staff that say I do not want to participate in any mindfulness activities, I don't want to work on my health, and I think, over time, just watching how their colleagues are participating and realizing, hey, maybe I want to try that We've actually had teachers start joining, but it's just taken time. We think of the stages of change and we're not always at the same level Wanting to work on things. The last thing we want to do is come in and say we're going to do this mindfulness technique or we're going to do journaling and we're just adding to their anxiety and to their stress. And so just meeting them where they are has been so beneficial. If they don't want to participate, there's no pressure. It's just more of like if you want to participate, that's great, and if you don't, that's okay. Maybe next time.

Amy: 11:15

Being flexible is key, yeah for sure, and nobody wants to be forced to work on their wellness because that's counterproductive, right? It doesn't feel good and I do think it's a very fine line. I just think about myself and when I first burnt out several years ago and I kind of put myself back together by doing all of the wellness-y things and it was helpful. And then I started providing wellness workshops to educators in the Denver area and I was talking about stress management and mindfulness and small things to do to implement more moments of movement and all of these things that had helped me.

Amy: 11:51

But I received this feedback once from a participant in one of my workshops. That kind of changed everything to me and I am so grateful for that feedback. She said it doesn't matter how many strategies I have or how much I meditate before I come into work in the morning. If I am in this place where there's so many demands and the leadership is toxic and I feel essentially set up to fail, it's almost adding insult to injury to say, well, here you just need to do more, eat more green vegetables and go for a walk and don't forget to go to therapy after work. It's a fine line between providing the resources, the tools, the education, and also acknowledging that there are some significant challenges that are outside of your personal control.

Lisa: 12:37

Yeah, it's a tough one. You don't want to tell someone. If you're unhappy, find something else.

Amy: 12:42

And I agree the answer is not for everyone in education to leave the profession and do something else. We need good educators. We need them to be healthy and happy and want to stay. That's the dilemma that I often see how do we balance personal resilience with organizational change to meet in the middle? Though I'm hearing you say that leadership has been an encouraging part of your work, because that shifts the culture, I would assume that when you have your ECE directors who are understanding the importance of a healthy environment in general, they're probably doing what they can to set that up for their staff so that they're not feeling completely powerless.

Lisa: 13:23

Yeah, and it's hard if you don't have leadership that's willing to make changes or kind of step out of their comfort zone. It can be really hard for staff. Pueblo's done a great job. We've met a lot and talked about their staff and well-being and they've added in a lot of activities for staff to really start building positive culture. I've seen management really step up and care about their staff and you can tell by staff attitude and how they're feeling. I see such a difference made because leadership has taken that initiative to make sure that staff wellness is seen, that it's important and not just something that's talked about. We've seen a really great positive shift with staff around health and wellness.

Amy: 14:07

If a school leader is listening to this and they say Lisa, I want to improve staff wellness at my school and I don't even know where to start. What would be your advice on where to start?

Lisa: 14:20

Oh, that's such a good question. So we have Fostering Resilience in Early Education. It was developed in 2020 by Drs Ginny Puma and Charlotte Farewell. They adapted the kindness curriculum out of Madison, wisconsin, and so we've adapted these tools. We have a piece for the staff, a very small quick piece, about maybe they journal or they go for a walk and maybe they do a breathing exercise, and then we've incorporated a section for the kiddos, so what the teachers are doing, then they can do it with the students. And so I would say, check out the kindness curriculum and then the relationship piece, really building community relationships.

Lisa: 14:59

For our program we started with seeing what the need was in the community, doing the needs assessment, what are their gaps? Where can we fill in? And the need was supporting educators with tools and resources around not mental health, but around health and wellness and to alleviate stress and burnout in the workplace. So that's where we started what was the need in the community? And then adapted the kindness curriculum and then really fostered some really great relationships with community members and it kind of spread from there. That first step is really see what the need is.

Lisa: 15:30

Is it stress in the workplace? Is it high work demands? Is that something that can be tailored to fit the needs of your staff. So maybe workload is adjusted or maybe, if there's budget, we hire some extra help or floaters to help with that kind of overload of work. And where are staff feeling overwhelmed? We start with a survey of staff, see what your staff needs and then go from there. We've had some staff say we really just want a relaxation area, we want a place we can go and relax for five minutes and take a break. There can be small changes that can really make a big difference for how staff are feeling. So start with the needs assessment.

Amy: 16:05

That's so important, as I'm listening to you explain that it's such a simple yet often overlooked first step, because there might be a bit of a disconnect between what we think our staff wants and what they really want. I worked at a school once where there were a lot of new moms and they really wanted a lactation room that wasn't this random closet, and so we created a beautiful welcoming space with dim lights and plants and a recliner, and that was a super easy thing to do. It didn't cost a lot of money. I think we got a grant to support some of it. But yeah, starting by finding out what do they need, what do they want and how can you put some of that in place first, we've even heard from teachers that there's long hours involved and oftentimes the extra work they're doing, they're just not seen or recognized.

Lisa: 16:54

So simple thank you's and email, just that acknowledgement can make such a big difference. Hey, I saw you doing this or this today, great job. Or you worked really well with this kiddo who was having behavioral problems. Just that simple acknowledgement we found makes such a big difference.

Amy: 17:13

I know that a lot of this work has been in ECE, which is an important foundation, but what if we wanted to scale this to larger systems, school districts or multiple levels, so elementary, middle and high? How would you recommend going about?

Lisa: 17:29

that we are looking, depending on our funding. Right now we're funded through SNAP-Ed, so we're really hoping that our funding will continue. But we've been looking at expanding curriculum to middle and high school and adapting to make sure that we're meeting their needs. We know that the first five years are so critical in development, but we don't want to just stop there, so we're expanding now seeing where we can take that for our middle and high schoolers?

Amy: 17:52

Yes, well, that's what I'm thinking. How do you continue to build on that momentum that you've created in those first five years? You think about the developmental needs of kids zero to five, to preteen, to teen, and when they're starting to exert their own independence, how do we get them to a point where they're middle schoolers and they have the ability to go to the corner store and choose whatever they want? How do we get them to sometimes at least make a healthy choice? I'm curious to hear from you in a couple of months, when you've got that data, because that's such an important piece.

Lisa: 18:24

Yeah, we've been doing some taste testing. Some of our team members have gone to the middle school and they'll set up a taste testing and then the students can vote on what they like or how they want to name this. So we're really involving them and so far it's been going really well.

Amy: 18:40

That's so encouraging.

Amy: 18:41

Okay, before we run out of time, what haven't I asked you about yet that you think is important to share? That we need to make sure that everybody listening is aware of when we think about supporting educators' well-being and mental health and sustainability in the profession.

Lisa: 18:58

That's a good question. I really feel like it's being flexible. Our educators go through so much and there's so much that I think a lot of people don't realize Parents, families, community members so ensuring that teachers are being taken care of there needs to be more focus on our educators, more support, mental health clinicians that can come in and really support staff Understanding that their workload. There's so much that goes on in their workload. It can be overwhelming and frustrating, but oftentimes it's low pay, so they're trying to make ends meet. Not all educators are going through the same things, but really understanding where they're at and supporting them.

Lisa: 19:41

With our program we've provided a lot of resources breathing exercises and talking about why journaling is important and just making sure that they know that there is support out there, that there are additional resources. There's so many things online now. You can meet with doctors and different professionals online. Building trust with teachers is huge. I'm so honored to have worked with all of these teachers through Pueblo and Southeast and Colorado Springs as well. Those relationships are so important. I am not a certified counselor or therapist, but I'm a good listener, so I think it's important that we make sure that staff have that, whether it's programs like ours, or just really pushing for other resources. But that knowledge piece for staff is so critical. There's so much that they don't know that needs to be shared. And again, leadership has really done a great job.

Amy: 20:33

So much of what you just said is so important.

Amy: 20:35

It all boils down to humanity and compassion, relationships and rapport. Everyone goes into education for different reasons, but I think that distills down to care deeply about kids, and that is part of the reason it's so important to have those meaningful relationships, to have somebody, whether it's you or your director or a therapist or your best friend or someone in the trenches with you and can understand where you're coming from. That's the foundation, right. We have to feel seen, heard, cared about as a professional before we can feel open to receiving the education and the knowledge that wellness programs provide and then we can feel empowered to take those steps to take care of ourselves. But if I don't feel like someone even cares about me or sees what I'm doing or is acknowledging the hard work that I'm putting in day in and day out, then that just shuts down the next pieces, and so I really appreciate what you just shared and how you're seeing that play out in real life, because it's a critical piece for sustaining this workforce. So thank you, yeah.

Lisa: 21:41

And I think about the relationships. If your staff are not feeling appreciated, or they're overwhelmed, or they're saying, hey, I have too much work but nothing's being done, then how are those relationships with the students? Yeah, and so one big puzzle that has to be put together and I know that we can't always hire a bunch of staff to cover breaks. But a five-minute break for a staff member who's saying I need a few minutes, I have this going on or I'm just stressed out, it makes such a difference. They're being heard. We're trying to find solutions. You want those positive relationships with the students.

Lisa: 22:16

So, making sure that staff is taken care of is just important for those relationships with students.

Amy: 22:22

That's absolutely right. I mean, it trickles down to student outcomes and if a teacher is completely stressed constantly because of things that are outside of their control, the students pick up on that, just like our own kids, right? When I'm stressed at home, my boys pick up on that and it's not good for any of us. So it's the same thing when you're in a classroom. I think that also, staff educators teachers have a lot of ideas for solutions and it goes back to what you said earlier about a needs assessment and finding out what they need. I also think that an important component could be asking them what do you think a solution could be? But yeah, like you said, relationships and just knowing that if they don't feel supported, that kind of shuts everything down, including positive outcomes for the kids.

Lisa: 23:14

Yeah, and teachers want to be heard, so ask them. That's right, include them, and we know that helps build positive culture. So if you're looking to really find ways to do that, include the staff, do a fun survey, ask them, tell me the top three things that are overwhelming you today and let's find a solution. Let's create a wellness team. Let's get together. Let's go for a walk and talk meeting. We found that that's a big best practice is to get out of the environment that's stressing you out, and let's go for a walk and talk about it. Tell me what we can do. Yeah, there's lots of ways to include staff and kind of help build that positive culture.

Amy: 23:50

Yes, and I would assume with a lot of the healthy nutrition part of what you all are doing. It also includes normalizing taking a break to eat your lunch as a staff member, right? Because how many times, I mean, I think about myself working in schools and how many times you just don't even bother taking lunch. Or if you do, you know you're like shoving a sandwich in your face for five minutes while you're doing something else. So the importance of normalizing enjoying some downtime to have a healthy meal and be social or take a break or whatever it is that you need to do is so important too.

Lisa: 24:28

Yeah, yeah, Southeast, I know I keep talking about them. I worked with them for a very long time with free and some other projects, but they got their staff walking pads and so in the break room you know, I was actually just looking online there are some walking pads for less than a hundred dollars. But I had one center tell me that there's a line during the lunch break of three or four staff members waiting to use the walking pad and they're just doing it for five or 10 minutes. But what a difference does that five or 10 minutes makes? And some said I didn't even want to get on the walking pad, but seeing their coworkers do it and then them saying, oh, you know, I feel better, I just got to listen to music and walk for a few minutes, I love that it's not crazy expensive initiative.

Amy: 25:08

You can make that happen fairly easily, and I think about myself, if I'm feeling stressed and overwhelmed, if I could just go for a five or 10 minute walk. It just kind of shifts everything, yeah. And so what an easy way to just invite some exercise and downtime. And there's so many little nuggets of wisdom and all of these strategies that they're not that profound. Do you know what I mean? I think that oftentimes we get stuck thinking it has to be this huge change or this big overhaul, but it doesn't. That's what I keep coming back to. Right, it doesn't have to be this huge crazy thing, it can be simple.

Lisa: 25:49

Yeah, we've provided, through the free program and through a couple other programs, listening stations. So you have a tablet and there's Spotify and they can listen to music or puzzles, massagers, adult coloring books, just things to give staff kind of a different break. So there's lots of fun things to do that don't cost a lot. The work that you do is so important and you have to take care of yourself, making sure that mentally, physically, we are feeling our best so that we can do our best, and that it's okay to reach out for help and support. There's nothing wrong with not feeling okay. So I think the big takeaway is that there are more and more resources coming out around mental health and well-being. It's finding those resources and utilizing what's out there, and it's okay to reach out to co-workers, friends, family who may be feeling the same way, or having that outlet of someone to talk to.

Lisa: 26:47

If you're feeling burnout and stress and overwhelmed and you aren't even sure where to start, do something that you love. I always tell my teachers today do one thing, one thing that you like. If it's listen to your favorite song, or go for a walk or color for a little bit, maybe it's gardening, what do you like to do, take five minutes and do something that you love. So I think the big takeaway is make sure that you are taking care of you, because you can't take care of others, whether it's family members, students, friends, family. You can't take care of anyone else unless you are taking care of you first, and that's hard, it's really hard, but it's important.

Amy: 27:27

So true, so true. If people want to find out more about the programs, if they want to connect with you, where is the best place for them to get more information?

Lisa: 27:37

Yeah, I do have a LinkedIn. It's Lisa D Gonzalez. I can provide my email, so please reach out. And then the links to the website, our programs on there and there's lots of resources. All of our nutrition lessons are on the website If anyone's interested in. You know the nutrition lessons that we do, the physical activities are on there. There's lots and lots, so feel free to use those. Yeah, Lots of information on the website. So everything is free for everyone to go check out. But, yeah, reach out please. I'm happy to share.

Amy: 28:08

I'll make sure I put all of that in the show notes. I really appreciate the wisdom that you brought to this conversation and the perspective that you have, and I know that listeners will too. I think that we often just need to be reminded that there are solutions. Things can and will get better. We just need to know where to look and be open to them. I really appreciate everything you shared, so thank you so much.

Lisa: 28:32

Yeah, thank you. I hope this was helpful and just know that there are people out there who care about the work that you do and we're pushing to get out there and really support more people. That's right, all right.

Amy: 28:43

Thank you so much.

Lisa: 28:44

Thank you.