Health For All!

May 1, 2007

Health is not something we just talk about at The Children’s Aid Society. It’s a top priority for all of the children and families we serve and for the staff of Children’s Aid as well. We’re all walking the walk of healthier lifestyles, not just talking the talk. Here’s a look at how we’re promoting our community’s long-term health:

Go!Kids Expansion: Go!Kids, our comprehensive preschool obesity prevention program that focuses on improving overall nutrition and increasing physical activity, kicked off in 2003 at P.S. 5 and grew to three sites in Washington Heights and the Bronx. Thanks to very positive early results from outside evaluators, we’re committed to extending Go!Kids to all of our early childhood programs. The Go!Kids curriculum has already demonstrated its ability to change parents’ lifestyle choices regarding foods and exercise and its growth is eagerly anticipated. In fact, one of the Go!Kids health educators himself lost 25 pounds as a result of the program. And at community school P.S. 50, in East Harlem, for example, the lunchroom now includes a salad bar, water and low-fat milk instead of high fructose juices.

Healthy Eating Campaigns: Children’s Aid has embarked on a number of new initiatives designed to encourage more knowledge about food and nutrition among our children and their families, which we believe will lead to more healthful eating habits. Our new Seed to Table gardening and cooking program will help educate children about the food they eat from the ground up. An exciting part of this program is instruction that will be given in the new teaching kitchen now under construction at our Dunlevy Milbank Center, thanks to a generous donation by the Food and Beverage Association.

We’re also changing the food we serve children in our centers and programs. Curricula at our Frederick Douglass, Milbank, Hope Leadership Academy, Next Generation Center, P.S. 5, P.S. 50 and Mirabal Sisters Campus middle schools are broadening the horizons of children and parents by introducing them to new foods and healthier ways of preparing them. Programs at Drew Hamilton Learning Center, East Harlem Center, and P.S. 50 help adults examine their eating habits while providing sound nutritional information. Children are learning more about the world of food through trips to supermarkets and farmer’s markets as well as through gardening in summer. Students at P.S.50 in East Harlem will operate a youth-run farmer’s market in June, an experience that will help them learn about the agricultural-urban food chain.

Fitness: Go!Kids has always included a physical education component for kids and parents, and we are working to extend the habit of healthier lifestyles to more families and to our staff. We have increased the fitness requirements for Children’s Aid after-school students and campers, and yours truly now swims every morning – and I feel great.

C. Warren Moses
Chief Executive Officer