According to the CDC in 2011-2014, 6 in 10 youth (63%) drank sugar-sweetened

beverages on a given day. In the Spring of 2020 The University of Kentucky’s Boone

County Nutrition Education Program Assistant partnered with 89 youth from Hillard

Collins Elementary School 4th Grade classes. Hillard Collins has 100% free and reduced

lunch program where the majority of the student’s families receive Snap benefits. The

children were taught basic nutrition skills using MyPlate. They learned about the 5 food

groups, and focused on trying new foods and drinking more water daily.  Each week the

students were taught a lesson and then tried a sample from a healthy recipe prepared

for them. In the MyPlate lessons the class was given a sample from every food group,

and each student received a refillable water bottle filled with water. They were asked to

try two bites of their sample and then decide if they liked it. At first the children were

eager to try their sample, however some hesitated when new foods were tried. Each

week students greeted the Nutrition Assistant saying “I’ve been drinking from my water

bottle everyday”.

The 4th grade classrooms are in mobile education trailers adjacent to the main school

building where bathrooms and water fountains are located. The teachers were so 

appreciative that the children now had their own refillable water bottles to use in the

mobile classrooms. Classes now incorporate a “water fountain refill” on their daily walk

to the bathrooms before and after lunch and special classes. The water bottles were a

great success in helping hydrate youth leading to educational success.