Three students from Tompkins High School have made it their mission to educate the public on food disorders.

Asmita Tankhiwale, Jayden Porter, and Lakshmi Telukuntla are part of a group called Nourish and Flourish, a Tompkins-based HOSA team dedicated to spreading awareness about food disorders.

“We want to educate everyone on the different types of food disorders and how they can be prevented,” a spokesperson for the group said in an email to the Katy Times.

*What is a HOSA team?

· A HOSA team is a group of students in a medical project for the Health Occupations Students of America (HOSA). Teams focus on developing leadership skills, participating in community service, and preparing for healthcare occupations.

*How did you get interested in food disorders?

· We are interested in food disorders because of its prevalence in our age group. By constantly noticing these patterns around us, we decided to counter this trend and take preventive measures.

*How was Nourish and Flourish developed?

· Nourish and Flourish was created as part of a HOSA community awareness project that encourages students to be introduced to the health related world. We gathered together and planned the activities of our group. These activities would aim to promote food disorder awareness and body positivity.

*When was it established?

· Nourish and Flourish was officially set off on October 24 with the creation of our Instagram account in hopes of an effective way to spread awareness.

*How many members,/participants do you have and how did you recruit them?

· Our Nourish and Flourish project consists of three founding members who came together with the common interest of spreading awareness on food disorders to help those in our community who struggle with food consumption and give them a hope for recovery. Currently, we have 77 followers on our Instagram account and are always looking for like-minded individuals that will help support the cause by spreading the message.

*What methods does your organization use to educate people about food disorders?

· Nourish and Flourish uses various methods to educate people about food disorders. For instance, we use comic sketches, informational posters, unique recipes, and interactive social outreach

demonstrations. However, we use social media (Instagram) extensively as it has greater potential for outreach. Our comics consist of five characters—Mari, Penny, Pop, Danny, and Dolly— representing the most common food disorders. They are constantly supporting each other, thereby uplifting the people with the respective food disorders. Our informational posters contextualize the details surrounding each food disorder. The recipes that we post are all inspired to counter each disorder, promoting recovery. Finally, our interactive social outreach interactions consist of activities such as the “take one, leave one” compliment jar. In this interactive activity, we requested public participation with the hopes of spreading positivity and used it as an opportunity to talk about food disorders and spread positivity.

*Who is your target audience?

· Our research indicates that adolescent women are more likely to have food disorders. Thus, our target audience is adolescent women and all individuals who have food disorders. Basically, we aim to help people who are at-risk of having food disorders or are fighting it already.

*What are the most common food disorders?

· The most common food disorders are anorexia nervosa, bulimia, orthorexia, ARFID (Avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder), and BED (Binge-eating disorder).

*Are food disorders common to all age groups, genders and ethnicities or are there differences?

· Yes, although food disorders are common to all groups, genders, and ethnicities, women in general and adolescents (also specifically females) are more likely to have food disorders due to social pressures.

*Do you have an academic advisor at Tompkins?

· Yes, our academic advisors are Amanda King and Kristopher Sears

*What are your future plans for the organization?


· Our intent is to continue with this mission and purpose even after graduating from high school. We hope to be able to leverage our Instagram account and support from our followers to reach a much greater audience.

*What are your future plans for each of the three of you? Career aspirations?

· All three of us would like to serve our community in the medical world. Jayden Porter is aspiring to become an optometrist to help individuals that have degrading eyesight as a result of our digital age. Asmita Tankhiwale wants to continue her family legacy of helping the community through the medical field. Lakshmi Telukuntla has long planned to be a doctor of some sort. Though not entirely sure, she is set on the idea of helping her community get better and grow through their health and mind.

*What else should the readers of the Katy Times know?

· The readers of the Katy Times should know that food disorders cannot be seen physically; however, just because they cannot be seen does not mean that they do not exist. Thus, we request that your readers support us in our journey to promote awareness on food disorders. Our Instagram handle is @nourish_and_flourish2025. We are excited to connect with other like minded individuals through Katy Times and appreciate the support.