Photo Credit: Tweens Nutrition and Fitness Coalition
In 2010, at a meeting of the Tweens Nutrition and Fitness Coalition (TNFC), a parent shared that she had visited one of the city pools with her daughters and noticed that the only healthy item on the menu was bottled water, which cost fifty cents more than soda. She saw kids loading up on candy and fried foods, and drinking liquid cheese from dipping cups. As a member of the non-profit coalition, she wanted people to work together to do something about this. Brian Rogers, one of the directors of Lexington’s Parks and Recreation pools, who was at the meeting, heard the clarion call and responded with a resounding “Yes! We can do something about this.”
A Coalition For Change
The mission of the coalition, based in Lexington, Ky., is to make healthy eating and physical activity environments accessible to youth and their families where they live, work, and play. Organized in 2003, the coalition consists of more than 30 community members and formal partners—registered dietitians, nurses, college professors, community organizers, and fellow non-profit representatives—who work together to promote health and social change across the city. We believe that if youth are surrounded with unhealthy food environments, then that’s what they’ll choose to eat. But, if the healthy choice becomes the easy choice, then they’ll more likely make healthier choices. As people with the ability to effect change, we can shape the environments where youth in the community eat, and invest in their health. We are able to do this work through one of our programs: Better Bites.
Nibbling Away
We began with a nutritional and cost analysis of the city’s pool concession stands and created a balanced approach to revising the menus. We suggested to the skeptical procurement manager a few healthier items, like those listed in the federal healthy snack guidelines. According to Rogers, it took two years to develop a menu that fit within budget and managed to maximize the limited storage capacity at the concession locations. In 2011, the Tweens Coalition’s Better Bites program was implemented when eight healthy items, including fresh fruit, vegetables, and grilled chicken sandwiches, were added to the concession stand menu at two pool locations. Sampling and promotional days were hosted, and at the end of the summer the concession financials were nearly identical with those of previous years. The procurement manager shared her gratitude because not only had the new food options been well-received at the pool, but they had given her the opportunity to make healthier choices, too. Surveys of pool attendees were conducted with overwhelming support of the new menu as well.