G
M
F
&
A
D
A
F
20
07
Champions for Healthy
Kids Grants

2007 GENERAL MILLS CHAMPIONS FOR HEALTHY KIDS GRANT
RECIPIENTS
AMERICAN SAMOA
Eat Right, Play Right with WIC
American Samoa WIC Program
Pago Pago, American Samoa
The Eat Right, Play Right with WIC program helps up to 3,000 WIC families acquire the knowledge and skills needed to maintain nutritionally sound diets and exercise regularly. A 2005 study of American Samoan children found that 28 percent were overweight, 33 percent were anemic and 50 percent had high cholesterol levels. The program will work with three to five year-olds and their families to increase participation in team sports and decrease habits such as sedentary activity and eating unhealthy snacks.
ARIZONA
Every Little Step Counts
—C.H.I.L.D. (Children’s Health in Lifestyle
Decisions)
St. Vincent de Paul Virginia G. Piper Medical & Dental Center
Phoenix, Arizona
Over a nine-month period, Every Little Step Counts —C.H.I.L.D., will help up to
150 young people decrease their consumption of sugary beverages by 60 percent, decrease their waistlines by at least 10 percent, increase their daily fiber intake, and bring their resting heart rates to a normal level. Children from six to
16 years of age will work one-on-one with medical staff to achieve individual goals.
The “Moving Van” Community Partnership
YMCA of Metropolitan Tucson
Tucson, Arizona
The goal of The “Moving Van” Community Partnership is to reach up to 4,000 five to 12 year-olds by equipping a van with equipment and information to teach children about nutrition and physical-activity. Trained staff will use the van to travel to elementary schools promoting the principles of the Presidential Active
Lifestyle Program and encouraging students to participate in the program, which requires an hour of exercise, five days a week for six weeks. The students will learn six dietary guidelines including: eating more whole grain foods, eating a variety of veggies, focusing on fruit, eating calcium rich foods, going lean with protein, and finding a balance between food intake and physical activity.
My Amazing Body
White Mountain Apache Head Start
Whiteriver, Arizona
The new My Amazing Body curriculum serves more than 250 three to five yearolds in 14 classrooms. The program promotes long-term improved health by helping children connect good nutrition with physical exercise. Estimating that 60 percent of the children are overweight or obese, the program strives to get students to discuss positive body images, participate daily in age-appropriate exercise and large-muscle motor skill development, select healthy foods and

proper portions, and work on the learning activities to help reinforce lessons at home.
CALIFORNIA
Add SPARK to Your Life (A
ñade SPARK a Tu Vida)
Merced County Office of Education
Atwater, California
The Merced County Office of Education established the Add SPARK to Your Life
(A ñade SPARK a Tu Vida) program to educate children and their families about the importance of a healthy and active lifestyle. Officials estimate that 28 percent of the more than 1,000 participants are overweight and an additional 15 percent are at risk. The Champions grant will also help support garden projects operated through the Harvest of the Month program.
Setting the PACE
—A Positive Approach to Physical Activity and Healthy
Eating
PACE Head Start
Los Angeles, California
The Setting the PACE program reaches more than 1,100 Head Start participants in the Los Angeles area. Trained parent-volunteers teach children and families weekly fitness and nutrition lessons. Workshops demonstrate easy solutions and practical goals, such as families exercising together at least once each week and increasing fruit and vegetable consumption by 25 percent.
Lawrence Elementary Physical Education Department
Lodi Unified School District
Lodi, California
The program will target students at risk of poor health because of inactivity and an unhealthy diet. Students will learn the importance of daily physical activity, adopting healthy eating habits, recognizing the risks of obesity and childhood diabetes, and understanding the overall benefits of nutrition and a healthy lifestyle. Students in first through sixth grades will participate in the program at least once each week during the school year.
Get Real! A Social Marketing Campaign to Promote a Healthy Lifestyle
Contra Costa Regional Health Foundation/
Families CAN (Coalition for Activity and Nutrition)
Martinez, California
The campaign will promote the fun and rewarding benefits of a nutritious and active lifestyle in several area schools. Through classes, student will create artwork and slogans using the Get Real!
motto. The program hopes to reach more than 6,000 children and families, encouraging them to eat “real” foods, have “real” family meals, and plan “real” adventures that are physically active.
411 for Healthy Girls
Pomona Valley Hospital Medical Center
Pomona, California
The 411 for Healthy Girls program will meet twice a week for 10 weeks to help
12- and 13-year-old girls improve their body image and their knowledge of living a healthy lifestyle. Through a partnership between the Pomona Valley Hospital
Medical Center and the Pomona Unified School District, girls and their families will receive information on improving self-esteem, adding nutritious foods to their

diets and participating in daily physical activity. According to California Center for
Public Health Advocacy data, 37 percent of seventh grade girls in the state are overweight.
ACORN Family Garden Project
Sacramento Native American Health Center
Sacramento, California
The ACORN Family Garden Project is a community-based program for diabetes prevention based on five tenets: A-Activity, C-Choice, O-Origin, R-Ritual, and N-
Nature. The program will introduce youths from five to 18 years old to local fruits and vegetables, with the goal of increasing their daily consumption of whole grains and fresh produce. The program also advocates an hour of physical activity every day of the week.
Sonoma SERVES After School Program
Roseland School District
Santa Rosa, California
The after-school program provides up to 1,000 elementary-aged students with information on daily nutrition and physical activity. By visiting grocery stores, farms and gardens, students enhance their knowledge and curiosity of fresh produce. The program incorporates 30 minutes of physical activity into each child’s day as well as healthy eating. The goal of the program is to reduce the risk of obesity, Type II diabetes and heart disease.
ENRG Campaign
Strategic Health Communications
Watsonville, California
The ENRG Campaign serves two high schools in
Watsonville’s Latino community by using fun and interactive classroom activities to teach students how to live a healthier lifestyle. The campaign targets the attitude and behavior of 12 to 18 year olds through school-wide events. The goal is to increase students’ knowledge of fruits and vegetables by 20 percent and to have 30 percent of students report a healthier lifestyle and more physical activity.
CONNECTICUT
Norwalk HAPPY (Healthy Active Positive PlaYful) Kids
Norwalk Health Department
Norwalk, Connecticut
The Norwalk Health Department has implemented the “HAPPY Kids” program in response to reports that 23 percent of preschoolers at the Ben Franklin Center are overweight. The program is designed to educate three- to five-year olds about the importance of nutrition and physical activity. By following 5-A-Day guidelines, seeking healthy role models, educating families and providing access to fitness equipment, the program hopes to inspire healthy lifestyles.
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
Operation Frontline’s Power of Eating Right
Share Our Strength
Washington, DC

The six-session course, designed for up to 1,000 low-income teens, teaches participants how to prepare healthy meals and snacks, and promotes 30 minutes of exercise each day. With the help of volunteer chefs and trained dieticians, the program hopes to instill healthy habits such as eating breakfast and eating the daily recommended amounts of fruits and vegetables.
IDAHO
Food, Fit, and Fun in the Park
Cassia Regional Medical Center
IHC Health Services, Inc.
Burley, Idaho
The Food, Fit, and Fun in the Park summer program for at-risk youth teaches participants about eight identified habits for a healthy lifestyle. They include always eating breakfast, eating more fruits and vegetables, limiting sweet drinks, limiting sedentary screen time in front of the computer, TV or a video game, increasing physical activity and eating meals with family. The program meets six
Thursdays over the summer for two hours each day.
ILLINOIS
The 3 I’s to a Healthy Life:
Increase Physical Activity, Improve Nutrition, Include Parents
Bradley-Bourbonnais Rotary
Bourbonnais, Illinois
Through school- and community-based outreach, the program will promote moderate to vigorous physical activity along with the importance of a healthy diet to nearly 200 students and their families. The Bradley-Bourbonnais Rotary will sponsor the Pembroke School District ’s use of the Coordinated Approach to
Child Health, a physical activity and nutrition curriculum, to engage the community in a healthy lifestyle program. A majority of school children in the district are eligible for the free or reduced lunch program, and with little access to grocery stores and public transportation, most of the population relies on a mobile food pantry for nutrition.
Get Smart at Dunbar
East Side Health District
East St. Louis, Illinois
The Get Smart at Dunbar program teaches the importance of eating healthy and exercising regularly. The program is designed to increase awareness among students, parents, faculty and community members. Over the next year, the goal of the program is to increase participation in the breakfast program from 55 percent to 75 percent as well as to increase the amount of moderate to vigorous activity in physical education classes to 50 percent.
Heart to Heart: The Smart Way to a Healthier Lifestyle
Chute Middle School
Evanston, Illinois
The Heart to Heart program is designed to improve the cardiovascular health and the nutritional knowledge of middle school students. After a majority of students failed the healthy heart portion of last year’s Fitness Gram test, Chute Middle
School developed a specific curriculum to improve cardiovascular health and create behavior changes to improve nutrition and activity in 30 percent of

students and to improve nutritional health and increase family awareness in 25 percent of students over the next year.
INDIANA
Head Start Triple Threat
—Food, Fitness, & Fun
Human Services, Inc.
Columbus, Indiana
The Head Start Triple Threat
—Food, Fitness, & Fun program will educate three- and four-year-old students about a balanced diet using the USDA Food Pyramid.
The program will also provide opportunities for the students and teachers to work in 30 minutes of physical activity into everyday classroom activities. To get parents and families involved, the program will sponsor an activity one evening in the fall and hold fairs throughout the summer.
Get Your Minds & Bodies in Motion for a Head Start in Life
Hoosier Uplands Economic Development Cooperation
Mitchell, Indiana
As part of its daily curriculum, the Get Your Minds & Bodies in Motion for a Head
Start in Life program integrates health and nutrition lessons into age-appropriate activities. Parental involvement is required to emphasize the concepts of the program and to help 425 children, up to age five, and their families work on program goals at home.
Take 5 for Life
Munster Medical Research Foundation
The Community Hospital Fitness Pointe
Munster, Indiana
Take 5 for Life is an in-school fitness program designed to increase the number of fifth grade students participating in daily physical activity and the daily consumption of fruits and vegetables. This 12-week program will teach students to read food labels and will decrease at least one risk factor for being overweight or obese such as body mass index or waist circumference. Guest lecturers, taste testings and parent forums will help encourage students to accomplish these goals.
KENTUCKY
Take 10
Wolfe County Schools
Campton, Kentucky
The Take 10 program uses 10-minute classroom-based physical activity breaks throughout the school day to teach curriculum content and promote healthy behaviors. Totaling 30 to 60 minutes of physical activity each day, the program reduces the amount of sedentary learning time, and provides students with an opportunity to re-energize and de-stress during the school day.
Head Start on Health (HSOH)
Community Action Council
Lexington, Kentucky

This hands-on Head Start curriculum, designed to be parent and teacher friendly, stresses the importance of healthy eating and physical fitness. The 920 students learn through stories, cooking, art projects and physical fitness activities.
LOUISIANA
Smart Bodies Champions!
Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
In partnership with Blue Cross Blue Shield, Louisiana State University developed the Smart Bodies program for 50 schools with hands-on, classroom learning each year. Students in kindergarten through fifth grade learn basic nutrition knowledge and understand the importance of physical activity through the program’s three components: OrganWise Guys, a school assembly presentation and follow-up program; Take 10!, a classroom-based physical activity program; and Body Walk, an interactive human body exhibit.
MASSACHUSETTES
FANtastic Kids
Boston Medical Center
Boston, Massachusetts
The community-based program provides physician-referred students with the information they need to lose weight and learn about nutrition and physical activity. The program gives low-income high school students the chance to develop their leadership skills by teaching younger children as peer leaders. In turn, the younger children learn the value of physical activity and nutrition from older role models.
MINNESOTA
Play Hard, Eat Smart, Have Fun
Bug-O-Nay-Ge-Shig School
Bena, Minnesota
Recognizing that the Bena community has the highest diabetes rate in the state, the school will use a series of national programs to improve fitness and nutrition behaviors. The program will use five targets to help its primarily American Indian student population reach their goals including: signing coupons pledging fitness, exercise, and proper nutrition; increasing access to fitness activities before and after school; parent cooking and fitness demonstrations at monthly Family Fun
Nights. This progr am will follow the school’s example of integrating the
Anishinabe language and culture into the curriculum.
Dream of Wild Health
Peta Wakan Tipi
St. Paul, Minnesota
The Dream of Wild Health program will work to reduce the risk of diabetes and obesity among American Indian youths ranging from eight to 18 years old.
Through this program and Cora’s Kids and Garden Warriors, students learn how to eat healthy through intensive gardening, learning about the nutritional values of foods and exposure to the nutritional value of traditional American Indian foods.

NEBRASKA
Weigh Cool
YMCA of Lincoln
Lincoln, Nebraska
The Weigh Cool program will define nutrition and physical activity criteria to help teachers teach middle-school students and their families the importance of everyday health. YMCA coaches and teachers are also required to participate in the program with the goal of improving parti cipants’ health and fitness test scores by 10 percent by March, 2008.
NEW JERSEY
Healthy Habits After 3
Kimball Medical Center Foundation
Lakewood, New Jersey
Healthy Habits After 3 will incorporate nutrition and physical activity information into an existing after-school program for more than 200 low-income families. The program goals include increasing the amount of instructor-led activity to 90 minutes each week and teaching children the 5-A Day nutritional concept.
Families with nutrition-related health issues will receive a referral to the Federally
Qualified Health Center.
NEW MEXICO
My Amazing Body
Youth Development, Inc.
Albuquerque, New Mexico
The program teaches three- to five-year-old children and their families to recognize the correlation between nutrition and physical exercise, and promotes long-term well-being and improved health. Children are encouraged to verbally express a positive body image, eat healthy foods, increase large-muscle motor skills and work with their parents on at-home exercises.
Dulce Youth Action Coalition
Dulce Public Schools
Dulce, New Mexico
The Dulce Youth Action Coalition was created to combine education and fitness by putting physical activity back in the classroom. This program seeks to involve faculty, food-service staff, families and the community in shifting focus to middleschool children and their health, their sense of belonging and community contributions. The program will help nearly 300 children once again pair learning with physical activity.
NEW YORK
Inside Out
Kaleida Health Foundation
Buffalo, New York
The Inside Out research program will address childhood obesity through theatrical education, a proven method of learning. By using plays and classroom productions, students will learn how nutritional choices and physical activity affect

their bodies from the inside out. The program also provides teachers with interactive lessons that are completed and submitted for evaluation by Inside Out
, allowing the program to continually cater the curriculum to school needs.
Healthy Kids, Healthy Families (HKHF) @ PS 132 & OS 152
Columbia University Medical Center; Community Pediatrics Department
New York, New York
Set in schools with limited gym and recess space, insufficient knowledge about healthy eating and low participation rates in the free breakfast program, the
Healthy Kids, Healthy Families program will educate the Nutrition Club, a small group of fifth grade students, who will then use what they’ve learned to help teach the rest of the school. The Nutrition Club and program leaders will work with local schools to establish a breakfast campaign, a healthy snack campaign and a cafeteria project, all based on the importance of healthy eating.
Healthy Head Start Kids and Families
Long Island Head Start
Patchogue, New York
Using the Color Me Healthy curriculum, the program will teach more than 1,500 preschoolers and their families the importance of eating more fruits and vegetables, drinking more water, controlled portion size, eating healthy snacks, and daily physical exercise either in the classroom or at home.
A Growing Adventure
Mount Pleasant Cottage School Union Free School District
Pleasantville, New York
The program serves more than 400 African-American and Hispanic young people between eight and 18 years old who are in foster care and living at a 161-acre residential facility. The students will grow fruits and vegetables to use in healthy recipes and they’ll publish a recipe book. In addition, they will keep a fitness and nutrition journal, and take part in a community health fair as part of the program.
NORTH CAROLINA
Behealthy School Kids
Forsyth County Department of Public Health
Winston-Salem, North Carolina
The Behealthy School Kids program targets 600 third through fifth grade students at two Winston-Salem schools. The program will maintain fruit and vegetable gardens at both schools, teach kids to identify low-fat, high-fiber foods, increase the amount of physical activity among students and increase the amount of fruits and vegetables students eat.
NORTH DAKOTA
Eat Right and Ride
United Tribes Technical College
Bismarck, North Dakota
The Eat Right and Ride program aims to provide healthy lifestyle opportunities to five- to 18-year-old American Indian students. By educating students on nutrition and exercise, and teaching them about dietary guidelines, the program is designed to counter trends showing that American Indian youth are disproportionately affected by obesity, diabetes, and suicide.

OHIO
Dempsey Middle School —Power of Healthy Choice Program
Delaware City Schools
Delaware, Ohio
The Power of Healthy Choice program will provide Dempsey Middle School with healthier cafeteria choices, a peer-to-peer marketing campaign aimed at smart eating and a physical education program that uses cardio equipment, games and exercises to improve daily workouts. The goal of the program is to positively affect the lifestyle choices of the nearly 700 students.
OKLAHOMA
Homeroom Heroes
Jefferson School
Shawnee, Oklahoma
Homeroom Heroes rewards students who take the lessons they’ve learned about the values of healthy food and physical activity and have extended them to their own lives. Students from six to 11 years-old will learn the benefits of healthy eating, one hour of daily physical activity, and increased body strength and aerobic capacity. Students will be asked to demonstrate these skills both inside and outside of school.
PENNSYLVANIA
CHAMPS Afterschool Enrichment Program
The School District of the City of Erie, PA
Erie, Pennsylvania
The program will teach more than 650 students about nutrition education, such as how to prepare healthy meals and snacks, as well as get students involved in physical activities. The CHAMPS staff, who will work with students at 13 different sites, will receive training from a registered dietician and a fitness professional.
The program will also create public service announcements on nutrition and fitness education, and it will provide parent/guardian workshops that focus on healthy food preparation.
My Garden Vegetables
Hosanna House, Inc.
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
The program uses hands-on gardening to promote vegetable and fruit consumption, and physical activity. More than 750 low-income, urban children work with dieticians and gardeners to grow produce, create garden art, visit community gardens and farmers’ markets, and chart the amount of fruits and vegetables they eat. The program will use the MyPyramid for Kids model to promote healthy eating as well as encourage 45 minutes of exercise through gardening three time each week.
SOUTH CAROLINA
Pleasant Grove Academy After School Outreach Program
Pleasant Grove Academy

Marion, South Carolina
Recognizing that a vital part of education is learning healthy lifestyle habits, the
After School Outreach Program will incorporate a nutrition and physical activity curriculum into current programming, which provides academic support for as many as 200 low-income children. The program will empower students to share what they have learned and serve as cooks and trainers for their families and community members.
TEXAS
Project Strong/Sporting Chance
Girls Incorporated of Metropolitan Dallas
Dallas, Texas
Under the Project Strong program, six- to 18-year-old girls learn about the importance of developing healthy eating habits. The program will work on lifestyle changes centered around food choices, exercise and self-image. The Sporting
Chance program provides the 2,000 girls who are members of the program with accurate health and fitness information, and encourages physical activity through active play, dance, adventure sports, walking, fitness classes and team sports.
Kids Café Nutrition and Fitness Program
San Antonio Food Bank
San Antonio, Texas
The Kids Café Nutrition and Fitness Program focuses on the healthy lifestyles of more than 1,000 low-income, school-aged children. The program advocates getting children to increase the amount of fruits and vegetables they eat, reduced fat consumption, acceptable levels of physical fitness, and an increased understanding of the link between fitness and nutrition. The goal of the program is to address the community’s high levels of heart disease, diabetes and poornutrition levels in hopes of improving the living standard.
Project Fit 4 Life
School of Excellence in Education
Dr. Paul Saenz Junior High School
San Antonio, Texas
Students ages 12 though 15 will learn the benefits of improved eating and exercise habits through the Project Fit 4 Life program. The program will promote good self-esteem and a healthy lifestyle through 300 minutes of exercise per week and will develop healthy menus. Students will use their “Passport to
F itness” to chart their progress throughout the school year.
UTAH
B.E.S.T. YOUTH’s Exercise and Nutrition Curriculum
The Orthopedic Specialty Hospital (TOSH)
IHC Health Services, Inc.
Murray, Utah
The new exercise and nutrition curriculum is being developed for Murray secondary schools with the help of The Orthopedic
Specialty Hospital’s sports dieticians and graduate students from the University of Utah. The curriculum, directed at the high-school level, is designed to tackle unhealthy behaviors and provide skills to 3,000 students, teachers, and parents.

Fun 4 Every BODY
Boys & Girls Clubs of Utah County
Provo, Utah
The goal of the Fit 4 Every BODY program is to demonstrate how eating right, keeping fit and forming positive relationships can contribute to a healthy lifestyle.
Boys & Girls Club members from ages five to 18 learn how to make smart meal and snack choices. The program advocates that organized recreation activities increase confidence, strengthen character and enhance connections with other participants.
VERMONT
RSWSU Quest for Wellness
Rutland Southwest Supervisory Union
Poultney, Vermont
The Quest for Wellness is a research-based wellness program designed to improve the health status of 610 students from kindergarten to sixth grade.
Through nutrition and physical activity intervention, the program will promote healthy eating by making changes to school nutrition programs and increasing the physical activity of students through the SPARK curriculum.
WASHINGTON
Fuel Up for Fitness!
Highline Public Schools
Burien, Washington
The Fuel Up for Fitness program aims to expand the physical education curriculum and enhance the nutritional education provided to students and families at Chinook Middle School. Students will manage personal health habits through exercise, food choices, proper hydration and sleep logs. Over time, students will learn how to set and maintain goals in accordance with the program curriculum’s five components of fitness.
WEST VIRGINIA
The Shack Neighborhood House Help H.A.N.D
(Health Awareness & Nutritious Decisions)
The Shack Neighborhood House, Inc.
Pursglove, West Virginia
The program will promote health awareness and nutrition education to up to 450 low-income children. Through information sessions, activities and contests, the program will educate children ranging from three to 14 years old about the importance of eating breakfast, physical activity, energy balance and nutrition.
The program will also help adults maintain good diets by providing healthy meal and recipe ideas.
###