Auglaize County, Ohio
Team Up for Good Nutrition with Ohio State University Extension
Ohio State University Extension, Auglaize County

With a grant from The Dannon Company, Ohio State University Extension will expand the nutrition education opportunities they provide to youth in Auglaize County. These opportunities may include classes in the areas of food safety, food preparation, nutrition, meal management and physical activity. The Dannon Next Generation Nutrition Grant will provide support to Ohio State University Extension’s programs, such as 4-H in the Classroom, 4-H Food and Nutrition Projects, Kid’s Chef School, Nutrition Essay Contest and Families Walk Across Auglaize County.

The Ohio State University Extension mission is to engage people to strengthen their lives and communities through research-based educational programming. Throughout its history, Ohio State University has focused on educational programs and materials to help families and individuals strengthen their knowledge of human nutrition so they can make healthy choices about the foods they eat.

Salt Lake County, Utah
Child Health and Nutrition Education Program
Utah Food Bank Services

With funding from The Dannon Company, Utah Food Bank Services will host classes and activities that will be taught at participating Kids Café sites as well as quarterly health fairs. Class topics will include proper portion sizes, fruits and vegetables, exercise and sugars in food. The purpose is to expose children to healthy lifestyle concepts through lessons that engage the children using activity and participation. The Child Health and Nutrition Education Program aims to serve an estimated 1,000 low-income, at-risk children in the community. The majority of the children in the program will be elementary school age, but there will also be several sites that will work with middle and high school age children.

Utah Food Bank Services provides food to a statewide network of over 240 agencies and community centers. Last fiscal year, Utah Food Bank Services distributed 18 million pounds of food – the equivalent of over 9 million meals – in response to more than 1.6 million requests for emergency food assistance from families and individuals in need.

Tarrant County, Texas
Little Bites, Big Steps
United Way of Tarrant County

Little Bites, Big Steps addresses the national problem of preschool children's health and fitness through a comprehensive approach targeting preschool children, their parents, other relatives and caregivers, and child care centers. United Way of Tarrant County has partnered with KERA to help parents and caregivers understand their role in promoting healthy eating in preschool children. KERA developed the Little Bites, Big Steps curriculum, which emphasizes the influence that parents and caregivers have on a child's behavior and choices and introduces them to concepts such as family style meals, healthy snacks and age-appropriate fitness activities. Utilizing existing relationships with a number of child care centers in Tarrant County, United Way identified six centers in which to implement and manage the Little Bites, Big Steps program with funding support from The Dannon Company. In Tarrant County, the program will serve approximately 300 children, ages birth to five years old. The training will be provided to 357 adults, including 300 parents and 57 caregivers such as classroom staff, administrators, cooks and mentors.

Established in 1922, United Way of Tarrant County is committed to serving individual needs while also making long-term changes in community conditions. In addition to maintaining a safety net of essential services, United Way is creating strategic new partnerships to tackle major community issues, such as childhood obesity, child abuse and neglect, early learning and development, senior isolation and adult literacy.

Westchester County, New York
Shake & Bake
Cornell Cooperative Extension of Westchester County

With funding from The Dannon Company, Cornell Cooperative Extension of Westchester County aims to improve dietary habits and encourage the adoption of fitness into the daily lifestyle of 75 middle school youth. The program will be offered through the White Plains Youth Bureau’s middle school after-school program called “Club Excel”, which offers youth participants access to a series of clubs. The program will be offered under the title Shake & Bake and will consist of two weekly 1.5 hour classes, which will include a nutrition class and a fitness class. The nutrition class will teach individuals how foods are classified using MyPyramid, portion control and how to choose a variety of foods to provide the essential nutrients needed to support growth and maintain health. The fitness class will show participants how to develop an active lifestyle by incorporating a variety of routine and fun activities into the daily schedule. There will be 7 series of 8 week sessions.

Cornell Cooperative Extension of Westchester County is a dynamic community based educational organization providing unbiased, research-based information to Westchester County residents of all ages, while offering a wide variety of educational programming and assistance to individuals, families, business and communities. Cornell Cooperative Extension has over 35 years of experience in providing nutrition education programs to a wide variety of audiences throughout Westchester County.