Author: Janie Oliver
Planning Unit: Knott County CES
Major Program: Nutrition and Food Systems General
Outcome: Intermediate Outcome
Knott County is a poverty stricken community with 100% of the youth in schools receiving free lunch. In Kentucky, 23.8% of youth ages 10 to 17 have obesity, giving Kentucky a ranking of 1 among the 50 provide nutrition related classes during summer school to help combat this issue.
The NEP assistant used information from the Professor Popcorn curriculum and USDA to provide hands on nutrition lessons and activities to the youth. One activity involved making a fruit bouquet out of several different types of fruit. One student said they had never had kiwi, while another student confessed they had never had mango. They were excited to try the new fruits and enjoyed cutting them into different shapes. Students also received physical activity during the visit when they participated in the MyPlate food groups relay race. They would pick up a plastic food, determine what group it belonged in, and would race down to the other end of the playground to place the item in the correct food group grocery bag. This summer school activity was enjoyed by all the students. They learned about fruits and vegetables and their taste buds got to experience things they had not before.
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