Norwalk Health Department Offers 'Fit Kids' After School Program

The Norwalk Health Department and the Pepperidge Farm and United Way of Coastal Fairfield County Health Partnership, part of the Campbell’s Healthy Communities Initiative, are working together to ensure that health and wellness continue to be a big part of Brookside Elementary School’s after school program. With generous funding support from the Campbell’s Healthy Communities Initiative, the Health Department trained staff at Brookside’s ACHIEVE after school program to teach lessons from the Health Department’s popular Fit Kids program. On January 23, the Health Department presented the staff and students at Brookside with physical activity equipment, nutrition education tools, craft supplies, and other materials for Fit Kids.

The Health Department has offered its Fit Kids program in Norwalk after school programs for the past 8 years; however, the fall 2017 semester was Brookside’s first experience with the program. Through fun, interactive lessons, Fit Kids teaches children about the importance of healthy eating and physical activity. Elementary school students learn about the US Department of Agriculture’s (USDA’s) MyPlate nutrition guidelines, try new, exciting foods through taste tests, and practice many different forms of exercise and movement that can be integrated into every day practice. Also, parents receive newsletters each week to explain what their children learned and to encourage them to start a family discussion about nutrition and exercise.

By training the after school staff to deliver the program and providing them with the materials and support to do so, the Health Department can work with other schools to spread the message of health and wellness to Norwalk students. Brookside’s ACHIEVE program is the 10^th after school program in Norwalk to be trained on the Fit Kids curriculum.

“Working with the ACHIEVE after school program has been a great experience,” said Kaitlin Latham, Health Education Associate at the Health Department and coordinator of the Fit Kids program. “The staff members are engaged, the students are excited to learn, and parents are supportive. I’m thrilled that ACHIEVE is invested in improving the health and wellness of its students. The Health Department is grateful for the generous support of the Pepperidge Farm and United Way of Coastal Fairfield County Health Partnership that allows us to continue and expand this work to more students and families across town.”

About the Norwalk Department of Health: Under the direction of the mayor, and with valuable guidance from its six-member Board of Health, the Norwalk Health Department provides a variety of services and programs to fulfill its mission: to prevent and control the spread of disease, promote a healthy environment, and protect the quality of life within its changing community. The Health Department achieved accreditation through the Public Health Accreditation Board (PHAB) in June 2014, demonstrating that it meets or exceeds national public health standards and commits to continuously improve the quality of the services it delivers. More information is available at www.norwalkhealth.com.