Web Site for the Official Student Newspaper of Normandale Community College in Bloomington, Minnesota
April 6, 2009 1:31 PM

Second graders at Chaska elementary are taught to make good food choices. Second graders at Chaska elementary are taught to make good food choices.

NCC grant will teach kids to live healthier

By Nikki Boehmer
Staff writer

“A Healthy Community, A Healthy You ...” is the newest service learning opportunity on campus.

Made possible by a $18,750 grant from Park Nicollet and additional contributions, the program is geared toward educating elementary age children about making lifelong healthy lifestyle choices to prevent diet and exercise problems from media influence.

“We’re hitting a need the elementary schools can’t focus on due to time and budget cuts,” said Wanda Kanwischer, director of NCC Center for Service Learning.

Kirsten Moffett, the new grant coordinator, was hired specifically for the part-time position because of her work with nonprofits and high interest in service learning. Moffett has a degree in Communications from Concordia College and a masters degree in Nonprofit and Public Policy Administration from Metropolitan State University.

Chaska Elementary, William Byrne Elementary (Burnsville), Centennial Elementary (Richfield) and Valley View Middle School (Bloomington) are the four pilot schools chosen to participate. Because of the program’s success thus far, the center hopes to expand to more metro schools next year if funding reapplied for in May comes across.

If the resources are approved in August, the need for student volunteers will also increase. “There were 30 slots open (in January) and about 50 students showed interest. We expanded it to 42 volunteers but still had to turn a few away,” Moffett said.

Community Nutrition: Political & Cultural Concerns and Contemporary Health Issues offer the program to participating students first. Volunteers are required to go through training.

Student volunteers give three, 45-minute presentations to second graders about how to make good decisions and improve their self-worth. On April 4, they attend a year-end celebration.

CDC report: Overweight
kids at risk

According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), obesity in children ages two to five was at 13.9 percent from 2003-2004. The numbers were higher in ages 6-11 at 18.8 percent, which includes the group that the NCC Center for Service Learning focuses on.

Obesity in any age group can cause problems later in life and has been linked to some cancers, respiratory problems and type 2 diabetes. Obesity also has economic consequences.

A study done by CDC showed that people who are overweight or obese account for 9.1 percent of medical expenses in the U.S. Around half of those costs were paid for by Medicaid or Medicare.

From 1998-2000, Minnesota spent an estimated $552 million in Medicaid/Medicare on medical issues related to obesity alone. Medicaid is government-funded and helps those with lower incomes. Medicare focuses on the elderly, defined as being 65 or older.

--Nikki Boehmer

For information, contact Kirsten Moffett, grant coordinator, at kirsten.moffett@normandale,e.edu.


The lesson plans used in the tutorials were developed with help from NCC faculty Cindy Carow-Schiebe, Jill Piefer and Krista Jordheim. Bloomington Schools curriculum specialists and the Park Nicollet Melrose Institute (eating disorders) reviewed the curriculum.

The lessons focus on how to have a healthy heart and fitness. “We want to teach them that doing anything to move their body is good,” Moffett said.

There is also emphasis on nutrition, the importance of eating a good, well-balanced breakfast every morning, decision-making and the media because companies target kids with prizes and cartoons to eat sugary cereal.

“We try to teach them that cool pictures don’t always mean something good is inside,” Moffett said.