Sade McIntosh, a student at York College and a member of the Transformative Games Initiative, earned a video game innovation fellowship for her game Restaurant Rockstar, which teaches students about Nutrition Fact labels.
The ESA | LOFT Video Gaming Innovation Fellowship strives to encourage youth to use video games as a platform for social change. Twenty Fellowship Winners received a $1,000 grant and an all expenses paid trip to Washington, D.C. to present their games/game ideas.
Ms. McIntosh designed a board game and a video game to help students make associations between foods and their nutritional content. Players compete against each other or the computer to win cooking contests using Nutritional Fact cards they hold in their card. Winners of cooking contests earn virtual money to build a restaurant empire, and the player with the most property at the end of the game wins.
By giving incoming freshman the experience of becoming intimate with Nutrition Fact labels, Ms. McIntosh hopes that students will make healthier dietary choices throughout their collegiate career, when stress leads many students to eating poorly.
