Meadow Gold Dairies: Meadow Gold & Me by Sabra Morris

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HEALTH FOR GENERATIONS: How this family lives its values P. 4

PLUS:

Raising Healthy Keiki P. 5

A SUPPLEMENT TO:

BONUS- 2!013

012 Special 2 hool Public Sc ded Inclu Calendar

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Meadow Gold and Me FALL 2012

[ WELCOME ]

Celebrating 115 Years PHOTO: David Croxford

“Milk: It does a body good.” I’ll never forget that slogan. It appeared in TV ads when I was growing up. For certain members of my family, memories include seeing the milkmoney jar sitting on the kitchen counter or watching the delivery man coming to the door. Everyone, it seems, has a memory like this. And now, as Meadow Gold turns 115, we’re proud to share even more with you in this issue. First, meet the cover family on page 4. Dad Bengie Coma has worked at Meadow Gold on Kauai for more than 20 years. His lifelong values are inextricably tied to the company’s values. Learn how he and his wife Agnes pass them onto daughters Abiegayle and Bethany Ann. We’re also celebrating health at any age this month, with a story on former Healthy Baby Contest entrant and mom Mahealani Richardson on page 5. Check out her tips for raising a healthy baby right from the start. One-hundred fifteen years and many generations after Meadow Gold began serving the Islands, the stories told by members of our extended Meadow Gold family continue to resonate. We sincerely hope you enjoy the stories we’re telling in this issue. And check out the awesome photo below, straight form the Meadow Gold archives. Dating to the mid-1950’s, it features former milktruck driver Jimmy Nahuna and a little boy looking very eager to come along for the ride. Some things never change.

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Table of Contents 3 By the Numbers

Milk supports health at any stage.

4 Gold Standards

Living His Values Employees like Bengie Coma keep Meadow Gold’s 115-year tradition alive and thriving.

5 Healthy Life

Advice to Grow On Former Healthy Baby Contest entrant and KITV4 anchor Mahealani Richardson shares her healthy-baby tips.

7 Quick Tips

Teach your kids to make healthy-eating choices, right from the start.

Meadow Gold and Me Alyson Helwagen

Gail Miyasaki

PUBLISHER

WRITER

alysonh@pacificbasin.net Helen McNeil EDITOR / ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER

Aloha, Sabra Morris,

helenm@honolulufamily.com Sabra Morris

EDITOR

Olivier Koning PHOTOGRAPHER

Clifton Kagawa PROJECT CONSULTANT

EDITOR / PROJECT MANAGER

Mia Inoshita

Jeff Nakama

EDITORIAL / NUTRITIONAL CONSULTANT

ART DIRECTOR Photo: Courtesy of Meadow Gold

Meadow Gold parents Bengie and Agnes Coma (far right and center, respectively) are raising daughters Abie (standing, left) and Bethany (lower-right) according to their longstanding values. Bengie, a Meadow Gold employee for more than 20 years, is the company’s lead driver for commercial milk delivery on Kauai. O N T H E COVE R:

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Health AT ANY AGE

By The Numbers

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Milk contributes to a healthy, affordable lifestyle at any stage. Check out the facts.

Photo: Courtesy of Meadow Gold

COST OF BREAKFAST SERVED IN HAWAII’S PUBLIC SCHOOLS.

APPROXIMATE AGE after

Breakfasts must provide one-fourth of the USDA Recommended Dietary Allowance for protein, calcium (by serving milk!), iron, vitamin A, vitamin C and calories.

which getting vitamin D from sun exposure is not enough to reduce risk of osteoporosis. An 8-ounce glass of milk (100 IU vitamin D) can provide up to 25 percent of the vitamin D requirement for those 50+.

SOURCE: USDA School Breakfast Program. http://www.usda.gov/cnd/Breakfast/AboutBFast/ SBPFactSheet.pdf

SOURCE: PDR Health, Physician’s Reference Desk and the Health Care Notification Network, http://www.pdhealth.com/diseases/ osteoporosis/symptoms and “Dietary Reference Intakes for Calcium and vitamin D,” Institute of Medicine 11/30/2010, http://www.iom. edu/reports/2010

PERCENT OF PROTEIN THE DAIRY FOOD GROUP CONTRIBUTES TO THE AVERAGE AMERICAN DIET.

Have your growing athlete drink milk, including Tru Moo chocolate milk, for proven workout recovery.

SOURCE: Dairy Research Institute, NHANES (2003-2006), Ages 2+ years. Data source: CDC, National Center for Health Statistics, US Department of Health and Human Services

AVERAGE COST PER 8-OZ SERVING OF MILK (and all the

nutrients it provides, including 30 percent of the average daily value of calcium and 16 percent average recommended daily allowance of protein.) Source: IFDA Dairy Facts; USDA Nutrient Database; MMR Study, Mar. 2009; IRI 2009 Affordability Study

NUMBER OF CUPS of milk most

people with lactose intolerance can consume per day without experiencing symptoms. Drinking milk in small amounts, or with meals or snacks, can reduce symptoms. Source: Dairy Council of California

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MG &ME

Gold Standards

Living H is

THE COMA FAMILY (Left to right): Daughter, Abiegayle (13), mom Agnes, daughter Bethany Ann (16) and dad Bengie

EMPLOYEES LIKE BENGIE COMA HAVE HELPED MAKE MEADOW GOLD A 115-YEAR-OLD ISLAND TRADITION. “EVERYBODY KNOWS OUR DAD!”

hat’s how Bethany, 16, and Abie, 13, describe the warm and familiar greetings their father, Bengie, receives from store managers and restaurant owners wherever the family goes shopping or dining on Kauai. Coma is Meadow Gold’s lead driver for commercial milk delivery 4

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on the Garden Island. He’s also the only relief driver to cover all of Kauai’s six delivery routes. “Our customers appreciate Bengie’s service and ask for him by name on special orders,” says Jael Okuno, Meadow Gold Kauai branch supervisor. “He even helps me manage the routes because he’s so knowledgeable with diverse work

skills. He’s always willing to help.” Coma joined Meadow Gold in 1991, starting as a utility stacker for milk delivery crates and moving up through the company in packaging, processing, maintenance and distribution departments. With each new promotion, he has enjoyed the challenge of learning new things. “I feel proud when I can solve CONTINUED ON PAGE 6 »

RAISING

Healthy Life

HEALTHY

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KEIKI

KITV4 News This Morning anchor Mahealani Richardson, a second runner-up in the Meadow Gold Healthy Baby Contest in the 1970s, shares tips on how she and husband Mike Yasutake keep Sky Kanekoa, age 21/2, healthy and happy.

Give veggies first and limit processed foods.

“Sky Kanekoa has a healthy appetite and loves drinking milk. Like most toddlers, if he snacked on bite-size crackers and juice all day, he wouldn’t be interested in eating healthy foods. So he starts the day with oatmeal and gets healthy snacks in the midmorning and mid-afternoon. His favorite snack is plain yogurt with fresh fruit, nuts and granola or a kale apple sauce that I make at home and freeze. A touch of honey or agave syrup adds sweetness if needed. So, by lunch and dinner, he’s hungry. As a dinner experiment, I served him sautéed kale and raisins

as the first course when he was the hungriest. He actually ate it all! Then I served him the rest of our family dinner of chicken and brown rice.”

Keep toddlers facing backward in a child safety car seat as long as possible.

“Many parents look forward to turning the seat to face front when their child reaches one year. But I’ve read that facing backward is the safest position for a small child.* Sky Kaneoka sat facing backward in his child safety seat until he was about 2 years old and got used to sitting that way.”

Look for family activities off the beaten path to keep things interesting for your child and for you. “Of course, we like to go to the beach, zoo and other popular and family-friendly places. But I am constantly looking for new places to go. I think it challenges us as parents and exposes our children to new experiences. Field Trip Friends (fieldtripfriendshawaii.com) is a wonderful place to start. We’ve taken Sky Kanekoa to a Windward taro farm, Art After Dark at the Honolulu Academy of Arts, hiking at the Makapuu Lighthouse and to a horse ranch in Waimanalo. My mother was always taking me places

* Source: American Academy of Pediatrics, “Car Seats: Information for Families 2012,” healthychildren.org

For Mahealani’s kale recipes: Email: mahea@kitv.com | Facebook Fan page: Mahealani Richardson | Twitter: @mahealani FA L L 2 0 1 2 / M E A D O W G O L D & M E /

that were safe, but not always typical ‘kid’ places. I think that made me open to new experiences and places for my son.”

Try to balance playtime with your time.

“I always strive to strike a balance between getting housework done, cooking, emailing / texting etc. and just simply playing with my son. When we are at home, I try to make time with him, in between chores, to just laugh, tickle, wrestle or piggyback. When we are at the park, I make the effort to alternate between

actively playing with him and talking with the other parents. I want him to know that his time with mommy is important, but so is mommy’s time for herself.”

Keep yourself happy and healthy.

“When I’m happy and healthy, I’m a much better parent. That means resting when I can, getting regular exercise, drinking more water and trying to eat more foods with a variety of vibrant colors.” 

The Annual Meadow Gold Healthy Baby Contest invites keiki 12-30 months old to participate. Registration on all Islands is going on now. Find out more at healthybabycontest.com.

BENGIE COMA, CONTINUED FROM P. 4 problems,” he says. “My co-workers work hard, so I put in the effort too. We help each other to make the job easier for all of us.” Humble and modest, Coma is grateful to Meadow Gold management for recognizing his work ethic. He also credits his supportive family. When his promotion to maintenance supervisor meant long work hours, wife Agnes, a certified nurse’s aide at Kauai Veterans Hospital, and their two then-little girls would bring him lunch and dinner at the plant so the family could eat together. Meadow Gold shares and supports values important to him, he says, particularly caring about, and doing your best for, family, customers and the community. Coma was 17 when his parents brought him from the Philippines to Hawaii in search of a better life for their eight children. He grew up seeing his family members work hard and take pride in their work, 6

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especially his father, now 87, who still runs his own yard service business. Coma works two jobs, both at Meadow Gold and as a chef at Lihue’s Tianos restaurant. “I’m inspired to work for my daughters, so they can go to college,” he explains. “I want to give them a better education than I had and a better life.” Coma, now 44, has seen many changes in his 21 years at Meadow Gold, which celebrates 115 years in

because it allowed him to stay close to his extended family on Kauai. It meant earning a commercial delivery license (CDL). Today, as lead driver, Coma trains new drivers and, on his own time, coaches them on the challenging CDL certification test. “Employees like Bengie Coma are the backbone of the quality service we strive to provide for our customers and the communities we live in,” says Reed Ogino, Meadow Gold Director of Branch Operations. “On the Neighbor

“I’M INSPIRED TO WORK FOR MY DAUGHTERS, SO THEY CAN GO TO COLLEGE ... I WANT TO GIVE THEM A BETTER EDUCATION THAN I HAD AND A BETTER LIFE.” Hawaii in 2012. One of the biggest was the closing of the milk-processing plant to become a distribution-only facility on Kauai in 2000. Coma took a job change offered by Meadow Gold

Islands, their hard work and quiet dedication build the goodwill and trust that has made us an island tradition for 115 years.” 

Food Smart, from the Start

Quick Tips

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By Esme Infante Nii, editor / host and chief executive mom, Moms In Hawaii HOW DO YOU TEACH YOUR KEIKI TO MAKE SMART FOOD CHOICES, RIGHT FROM THE BEGINNING? THE MOMS IN HAWAII COMMUNITY OF ISLAND MOTHERS OFFERS FIVE GREAT IDEAS:

APPEAL TO THEIR SWEET TOOTH. Present healthy foods as treats, suggests Brandi BlytheMedrano, a Mililani mom of three. For dessert, “I offer yogurt with fresh fruit, smoothies, strawberries with whipped cream … and the kids get really excited about it. I often say, ‘If you are good all day, we’ll make a fruit salad for dessert!’ Just putting it in that context makes it sound like they are getting a special treat.” Need an idea? Try the avocado-mango smoothie recipe below.

KEEP LESSONS LIGHT. Games can help little ones learn to like, and eventually choose, veggies. Honolulu mom Lisa Kimura said that when her preschool-age daughter resisted eating a stir-fry, “I made a big game of ‘Surprise’ out of it. I told her to close her eyes — no peeking! — and guess which veggie I put in her mouth. She had so much fun with it, she ate the whole thing.” FOR MORE HEALTHY-EATING TIPS FOR KIDS, VISIT:

MOMSINHAWAII.COM

SING, SING A SONG. Kids remember lessons wrapped in a tune. Google the phrase “songs about nutrition” or, make up your own. Wahiawa mom Jan Trease likes to sing “Peas, Carrots, Cukes and Corn” to the tune of “Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes.” Her kids prefer her version!

MAKE IT A MANTRA. Here in the Nii household, we have a saying: “With every meal, you have to eat something fresh.” We say it out loud daily in our effort to include vegetables or fruit with every meal. My hope is that the saying will stick with my kids when they’re making their own meal choices ... and later as they grow into adults, too.

SHOW, OR GROW. “Take them to a garden or farm so they can see where produce is from and how it grows,” suggests Summer Faria, a Pearl City mom of two. “Let them pick out a different veggie from each color of the rainbow at the store or farmers’ market.” Or, as first lady Michelle Obama’s book “American Grown” emphasizes, help your kids grow their own food — they’ll be more likely to appreciate and eat it.

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– Milk Pro

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MOM & DAD: YOU ASKED. WE LISTENED.

McDonald’s new Happy Meal now comes automatically w ith your choice of Meadow Gold fat-free chocolate or 1-percent lowfat white milk and apple slices on the side. They’re still served with your choice of a Hamburger, Cheeseburger or Chicken McNuggets® and a new s maller size French Fries. Or choose to enjoy two portions of apples in lieu of fries.

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