Adopting healthy lifestyle choices for overall well-being is a major initiative of Kentucky 4-H.  The Simpson County Cooperative Extension Service used the State 4-H Blender Bike to promote physical activity and nutrition throughout Simpson County last Fall.  The Blender Bike reached 1,100 people through school & industry health fairs, classrooms, day cares, Head Start, a local church, Cooking with Kids, 4-H club meetings, the Boys & Girls Club, and at Boofest, a community Fall festival sponsored by the Fair Board. The blender bike demonstration emphasized being physically active and made either salsa or a smoothie using fresh fruits and vegetables.  Salsa is a nutritious snack for all ages and the smoothie was made from fresh fruit, 100% juice, and low fat yogurt and is a well-balanced breakfast option. Blender bike participants learned how fun being physcially active can be.  80% of participants sampled the salsa or smoothie and took a copy of the recipe.  The bike was an excellent tool to draw people to the Extension booth at the health fairs and Boofest, with 90% of those given the opportunity to demonstrate the bike riding it.  

At the 6^th grade health fair school staff put a special needs student on the blender bike.  He had mobility issues and needed assistance walking.  The student was able to ride the bike by himself.  The smile on his face was priceless as he was able to be independent and physically active simultaneously.  At Boofest, an eight year old that could not ride his own bike at home got on the blender bike.  His mom used the stationary bike to teach her son how to pedal a bike and develop his coordination.  Bringing the Blender Bike to Simpson County increased Extension’s health programming throughout the county. The school district, through their community education director, has asked Extension to partner with the district to acquire a blender bike for health programming for the coming school year.