Thursday, the Hampton-Dumont elementary schools held a family healthy living event at South Side Elementary School. The event focused on healthy living and healthy families.
Franklin County has been named as one of the most unhealthy and obese counties in Iowa. The county received a High Obesity Program grant recently from the CDC to help address the growing concern in north Iowa. The grant was awarded to promote healthy living and active living in counties that have more than 40 percent prevalence of adult obesity.
Radio on the Go broadcasted live from the event Thursday and Beth Frenchick, who is in her first year as elementary principal at Hampton-Dumont, explained to us why the event was so important for the community.
*Frenchick #1 “…family engagement in our school.” (:33)
“Well, we really wanted to have a family engagement night here at the elementary. And so we were thinking through it and heard that we have this issue here in Franklin County, where we are one of the top five most obese counties in the state. And so the school is actually approached to pair with some groups and to use some funding from the CDC so that we can help families in Franklin County learn how to live healthier lifestyles and eat more healthy and just be happier overall. And so we thought this would be an opportunity for us to help our families, help our students and also encourage family engagement in our school.”
There were physical activities and opportunities for students to practice healthy eating habits. The school also partnered with Healthy Harvest of North Iowa and the Hampton-Dumont High School FCS department to provide taste testing and cooking demonstrations.
