According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC) one out of ten American’s get the recommended daily intake of fruits and vegetables. The CDC also states that 26.8% of children between two to five years old and 26.1% of children six to 11 years old consume ready-to-eat cereal high in sugar. The 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for American recommend we get one and half to two cups of fruit and two to three cups of vegetable per day.

To help the Harrison County community increase their intake of fruits and vegetables, and decrease their sugar intake at breakfast time, Harrison County Extension offered a free breakfast with Santa and his Elves. The Nutrition Education Program partnered with the Family Consumer and Science Agent and the 4-H club for a single session on fruit and vegetables at breakfast. Using the Healthy Choices for Everybody curriculum a lesson on fruits and vegetables was presented to 65 adults and 75 youth. Simple, healthy, and quick recipes were prepared and sampled.

After a healthy breakfast the youth spent time with Santa and his Elves. Three of the 4-H club participants volunteered their time to become elves for the day and assisted Santa and help serve breakfast. 

At the conclusion of the day several adults stated they had tried a new vegetable within the recipe and learned new ways to add vegetables to their meals. The NEP program also had 10 new participants sign up for the Healthy Choice monthly program.