One Town Gets Children to Live a Healthy Lifestyle
Shape Up Your Hometown continued...
This Community Made It Happen: Upper Adams School District, PA. Three years ago, phys ed teachers Jane Little and Deborah Yargar-Reed asked their elementary school principals for the OK to suggest some healthy changes to the food-services director. The result: Menus now include baked potato chips and fresh fruit in place of sweet desserts. The cafeteria transitioned kids from white to whole wheat bread by replacing just one slice in a sandwich with wheat.
What You Can Do: Recent federal nutrition guidelines may already have brought more fruit, veggies, and whole grains to your local school breakfast and lunch menus. But these healthy meals may face competition from high-calorie drinks and snacks still sold in or near many schools. Organize a Just One More campaign at your kid's school: For this program, started at the Sparta (NJ) Middle School, children make healthy pledges, including a promise to eat one more serving of fruit or veggies a day. Or consider approaching your district's food-services director and school board about spearheading a drive to switch to healthier school snacks. For ideas, check the Alliance for a Healthier Generation Web site, healthiergeneration.org.
- Blaze New Trails
This Community Made It Happen: Moses Lake, WA. Volunteers here worked with local officials to plan more trails and better access to the existing paths in the lakefront town — with more work slated for the future.
What You Can Do: Sign up to build trails in a park near you, so there will be more places for kids' exploration. Or offer to map out bike lanes or bike trails in your town — approach your town's parks-and-recreation board to see where your help is needed most. Bonus: You'll get exercise yourself while helping to keep others healthy.
Other Resources to Improve Kids’ Health
- Snacks from Shape Up Somerville: A list of healthy grab-and-go munchies and snacking tips from Somerville Public Schools Food Service Department.
- Find Out What’s Happening In Your State: Action for Healthy Kids, a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving nutrition and physical activity by focusing on changes in schools, tracks progress on these issues nationwide.
Additional reporting by Kate Schmier
Originally published on September 1, 2008
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