The Hopkinsville Housing Authority reached out to the Christian County Agent for Family Consumer Sciences (FCS) to assist with their 2024 Kids Summer Day Camp. A need to improve understanding of the importance and benefits of proper nutrition was identified as a need for the children participating in the summer camp and thus, Nutrition Superhero Camp was developed.

Nutrition Superhero Camp met once a week for five weeks during June and July 2024 with an average attendance of 15 kids. The FCS Agent utilized Nutrition Education Program resources such as the Eat Smart, Play Hard toolkit and Professor Popcorn to develop lesson plans. Each week a different food group was discussed including; where the food comes from, the benefits of consuming each food group (including how it contributes to building super powers such as strength, eye sight, muscle tone, speed, immune system and so on), food experiments to help understand food growth and safety, games combining nutrition education and physical activity, and healthy snacks which gave the kids a chance to try new foods. Each week campers also received items to take home such as water changing cups, nutrition themed coloring books, Wally Cat masks, stickers, and upon completion of the 5-week program, Nutrition Superhero Camp Graduates received a cooking apron with attached cape.

The outline for each week was as follows:

Week 1: MyPlate

• Game Time: The Motion Name Game
• Experiment: Celery Science
• Snack: Fru-schetta

Week 2: Grains

• Game Time: Matching Game
• Experiment: Breakfast Cereal Experiment
• Snack: Super Snack Mix

Week 3: Vegetables

• Game Time: “What Am I? Game” and “Rock, Paper, Scissors Knockout”
• Experiment: Oil and Water
• Snack: Tomatoes and Carrots w/ranch

Week 4: Fruits

• Game Time: “Wally Wildcat Says”
• Experiment: Banana Ripening
• Snack: Willy Wildcat Superhero Muffins and Fresh Fruit

Week 5: Protein and Dairy

• Game Time: “As if…”
• Experiment: Effect of Soda on Teeth
• Snack: Thor Hammer Bites and Yogurt

The Nutrition Superhero Camp was a tremendous success. The campers had fun playing games and doing food science experiments while learning the importance of good nutrition. Each week 100 percent of the campers reported having learned something new. More than 86 percent of the campers looked forward to trying new foods during snack time and 75 percent reported asking their parents or guardians to purchase more fruits and vegetables when grocery shopping. As a result, of this collaboration with the Hopkinsville Housing Authority the Christian Co. Agent for FCS has been invited to lead monthly after school classes for the kids, as well as monthly adult education classes.