SNAP-Ed at NKFM

What are your health goals for 2023? Whether you want to accomplish a fitness goal or focus on healthy eating, nutrition and exercise are key to meeting your goals. Making new year resolutions as a family that fit with your lifestyle, preferences, and personal needs can help with making lifestyle changes. Here a four tips to help this year:

• Eat a Variety of Foods – Check out these delicious recipes from the USDA.
• Add Physical Activities to Your Daily Routine – Don’t worry if you are thinking, “How could I get all the physical activity that is recommended each week?” You will be surprised by the variety of activities you can choose from.
• Choose Healthy Habits that Fit Your Preferences – What foods and practices are important to your culture and family traditions? What types of activities do you enjoy the most? Ask yourself these questions when planning your healthy habits.
• Build memories and healthy cooking skills in the kitchen – Cooking is a great opportunity to spend time with your children, parents or grandparents.

SNAP benefits help you buy healthy foods for you and your household at grocery stores and farmers markets. Food eligible to purchase with SNAP benefits include:

• Fruits and vegetables;
• Meat, poultry, and fish;
• Dairy products;
• Breads and cereals;
• Other foods such as snack foods and non-alcoholic beverages; and
• Seeds and plants, which produce food for the household to eat.

For more information on healthy eating, visit our Nutrition page.

Healthy eating is important at every stage of life. Here are some some ways to help you and your family make healthy choices together:

• Connect at mealtimes
• Plan your meals
• Let everyone help
• Serve a variety of foods
• Let kids choose
• Offer nonfood rewards

Physical activity is key to a healthy lifestyle. Kids need at least 60 minutes of physical activity every day and adults should aim for 150 minutes per week. One way to accomplish this? Get active together! When the whole family gets moving, everyone gets the health benefits. Here are some tips to get started:

• Get a mix of activity. Do things that:
  • Strengthen your bones
  • Build your muscles
  • Make your heart beat faster
• Split up your 60 minutes over the day however you want — it all adds up!
  • Before school
  • At recess
  • After school
• Do things you enjoy doing.

Build out your daily physical activity plan with the Move Your Way physical activity tool!  For more information on ways to get active, visit our Physical Activity page.

Healthy Eating

Food is a universal language for sharing and learning. Schools can play an important role in helping students establish healthy behaviors through education and practice. The CDC recommends that schools implement policies and practices to create a nutrition environment that supports students in making healthy choices by providing them with access to healthy and appealing foods and beverages, consistent and accurate messages about healthy eating, and opportunities to learn about and practice healthy eating. Taking action is simple!

• Explore each of the food groups. Talk to students about healthy eating and why it is important for their bodies
• Add MyPlate messaging into your classroom calendar, bulletin board, emails, and morning announcements.
• Join Team Nutrition
• Start a school garden in which kids, parents, teachers, and community members can participate. Need tips on where to start? Check out this blog from the USDA.
• Set a good example for the children by eating healthier and being more active.
• Consider implementing a nutrition education program into your classroom. Check out our Programs page to learn more about our youth nutrition education programs.
• The Michigan Nutrition Standards Toolkit has many ideas on how to make healthy choices at home and at school.
• Let’s Move! Child Care provides information on best practice recommendations and resources for nutrition and physical activity for child care centers.

Physical Activity

According to the CDC, students who engage in regular physical activity tend to have better grades, attendance, cognitive performance, and classroom behaviors. Physical activity opportunities can be implemented before school, during school, and after the school day through physical education, recess, staff involvement and family and community engagement. Here are some ways you can incorporate physical activity into your classroom:

• Incorporate movement into lessons or plan quick activity breaks into your day.
• Take students for a walk.
• Do not use physical activity as punishment.
• Make recess a part of each school day. Recess is an important part of an active school. Check out Strategies for Recess in Schools to learn how you can support recess at your school.
• Encourage walking and biking to school through the Safe Routes to School movement.
• Go NAPSACC -Go Nutrition and Physical Activity Self Assessment for Child Care website.

Check out these Tips for Teachers: How to promote healthy eating and physical activity in the classroom.