Northside students learn value of good health during farm program

DECATUR — Students at Decatur Northside Elementary learned where food comes from and the value of good health while developing good eating habits during the Arkansas Farm and You program presented in the school’s safe room in Decatur March 8.

The Arkansas Farm and You program is a collaboration of several educational organizations which include the University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service Family and Consumer Sciences, 4-H, Agriculture Education program, and the Arkansas Department of Human Services SNAP-Ed program. The group’s primary mission is to educate first- through sixth-grade students in the proper dietary choices and the values of eating the right foods.

According to the Arkansas Center for Health Improvements “over onethird (38 percent) of youth in Arkansas are overweight or obese. Being overweight as a child increases the risk of developing diabetes and cardiovascular disease later in life” (www.achi.net).

The Arkansas Farm and You program focuses on the farm as a source of the state food stocks and the transportation, processing and packaging of food from farm to market.

In addition to good health practices, students learned the importance of good oral health and personal hygiene.

Each class visited three stations on food proportions, the farm and nutrition. Then they entered a giant mouth where the student learned the proper care of the teeth.

The sponsors of the program hoped that through education, each student will take a healthier approach to nutrition into adulthood.

Westside Eagle Observer/MIKE ECKELS Allyson Carter, a teacher at Decatur Northside Elementary, discusses proper dental hygiene with students.

Westside Eagle Observer/MIKE ECKELS Paige Barrett (top, center) uses an ultraviolet light to show students the germs on their hands during the Farm and You program in the safe room at Decatur Northside Elementary on March 8.

Westside Eagle Observer/MIKE ECKELS Jacqueline Silva (center) shows students a plate marked with the five food groups. Silva is assisted by Maddie Mitchell (right), a Town and Country 4-H member and a sophomore at Gravette.

Westside Eagle Observer/MIKE ECKELS Cathy Love shows students the five food groups.