The Healthy Bodies Project

USDA & DHS (SNAP-Ed) Award Agreement number: 4100088743
Administered in: College of Health and Human Development

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Abstract:

The Healthy Bodies Project is a child health and wellness nutrition education outreach project funded by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the PA Department of Human Services.  This project is a part of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program-Education (SNAP-Ed). We are housed within the Department of Biobehavioral Health at Penn State University. Our focus is on providing guidance to teachers, children and families on ways to improve healthy eating, increase active play, and help children develop healthy behaviors. We provide family and school-based curricula to promote healthy behaviors in preschool and school-aged children, as well as their caregivers. Our overall goal is to help children and families develop healthy attitudes and behaviors that lead to lifelong health and wellness. 

With a focus on food literacy – a set of skills needed to develop a healthy lifelong relationship with food – our program aims to improve knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors in ways that help families manage, select, and consume foods that support healthy growth and development. Our school-based curricula introduce children to a variety of healthy nutrition and physical activity topics, with a focus on learning about new fruits and vegetables, and other healthy foods, describing how each of them grows, and how food moves from farm to table.  Programming targeted towards caregivers provides guidance on eating healthy on a budget, providing healthy eating and activity practices and environments for their family.