3^rd Grade Students Change Health Behaviors

The Pike County Cooperative Extension Service Expanded Food and Nutrition Program (EFNEP) continues to be partnered with Pike County Schools to provide nutrition and food safety education plus physical activity.  The objectives are for students to make healthier food choices, practice food safety techniques, and learn to incorporate daily physical activity.

The Professor Popcorn curriculum was taught and emphasized the importance of choosing fruits and vegetables over fast food and prepackage snacks. Students also learned all aspects of food safety, including proper handwashing and keeping hot foods hot and cold foods cold to prevent the spread of bacteria.  The benefits of physical activity everyday were also addressed, such as building muscle strength and healthy heart and lungs.   Students were given recipes and nutritional information to take home to share with their families. 

Nine students participated and graduated from this class. Sixty-seven (67%) percent improved on food/ nutrition behavior; eighty-nine (89%) percent improved on food safety practices; and seventy-eight (87%) percent improved on physical activity.

When asked to share their experiences, third graders wrote “I make sure I play outside for an hour a day to keep my heart and muscles strong”. Another reported “I told my mom to make sure she put food back in the refrigerator after we eat instead of leaving it on the table, and to quit thawing food on the countertop.”