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Winter 2014 • Kentucky
is having healthy food options available at school
celebrations. Courtney cites research showing
that a recess with physical activity improves focus,
behavior, and ability to learn when it is included
in the schedule.
One example of changing the system was the
Coalition’s Better Bites program working with
the four Lexington public swimming pools that
have food concession stands. Did the Tweens
Coalition’s efforts to change young people’s eating habits pay off? Well, in the summer of 2014,
after four years of planning and marketing, the
food concessions at these four pools found that
fresh fruit outsold chicken nuggets three to one.
It was the culmination of an effort during which
the Coalition provided technical assistance in
selection of foods that meet nutrition guidelines,
helped with promotion and marketing, and interviewed pool patrons to see what they wanted.
Aimed especially at small neighborhood stores,
the GNS Network “acts as a liaison between residents, store owners and food suppliers to help
increase the amount of healthy food stocked and
make changes in store safety, appearance, and
community relations,” according to the Tweens
website.
Volunteers are always welcome as are cash donations. For more information about the Tweens
Coalition, go to their website, http://tweenslex.
org. Another website Courtney recommends as
one that doctors might well recommend to parents “and