Creating Healthy Schools and Communities

 

 

The City of Kingston was awarded a New York State Department of Health funded grant, Creating Healthy Schools and Communities (CHSC), that supports policy, systems, and environmental changes (PSE) to help make healthier choices, easier in the City of Kingston. Cornell Cooperative Extension Ulster County (CCEUC) partnered with the City of Kingston to manage the school strategy facet of the project.

The Creating Healthy Schools Coordinator, Ninette Warner, MS RDN (of CCEUC), has helped start or support wellness committees at the district level and at some of the elementary school buildings in Kingston City School District including George Washington, John F. Kennedy, Harry L. Edson, Ernest C. Meyer, and Chambers.

INCREASING PHYSICAL ACTIVITIES

CHSC is working with these elementary schools to increase opportunities for physical activity before, during, and after school. School building wellness committees choose how to spend CHSC funding to support increased physical activity. Most schools choose to purchase sports equipment and lawn games for use at physical education class and recess. Some schools also choose individual classroom supports like bouncy bands for desks and chairs, sensory balls, play parachutes, and any other small equipment that helps get students up and moving during the school day!

The CHSC school coordinator provides training, technical assistance, and resources to school staff and families on best practices for increasing school physical activities.

HEALTHY NUTRITION ENVIRONMENT

CHSC is working with these schools to increase access to better nutrition outside the school meal program. To help achieve this, the CHSC school coordinator provides training, technical assistance, and resources on holding healthier celebrations that focus on fun over food, after school cooking clubs, and increasing food access through school pantries and pop-up free markets. The school coordinator works with school foodservice and school staff to provide training and technical assistance on implementing the USDA funded Fresh Fruit & Vegetable Program (FFVP) that provides free fruit and vegetable snacks to students. To further support this, the CHSC school coordinator is coordinating with Rondout Valley Growers Association to procure more locally grown produce for FFVP and provide agricultural education through cafeteria taste tests.

Wellness committees help decide what types of nutrition supports to purchase to create a healthier nutrition environment including healthy celebration tools like board games, special birthday sashes, and even a blender bike for making healthy smoothies!

CHSC also coordinates nutrition education in the classroom through CCEUC’s SNAP-Ed program.

“This webpage is supported with funding from the State of New York. The opinions, results, findings and/or interpretations of data contained therein are the responsibility of the author and do not necessarily represent the opinions, interpretations or policy of the State.” 

Last updated June 25, 2024