April 1 – In an effort to reduce childhood obesity in Texas, the 4-H and Family & Community Health units will focus on building youth knowledge and skills in gardening, nutrition and physical fitness.
Growing U, a joint 4-H project of Prairie View A&M University’s Cooperative Extension Program (CEP) and Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service will educate youths about healthy living practices in six counties. The 5-year project, estimated at a cost of $1.1 million, is funded by the Children, Youth and Families At Risk (CYFAR) grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Institute of Food and Agriculture. The project will be implemented with the following community partners:
- Ralph Wilson Youth Center (Bell County)
- Brazos School for Inquiry and Creativity (Brazos County)
- Harmony Science Academy (Brazos and Fort Bend Counties)
- Sullivan Elementary (Cameron County)
- Hearne Elementary (Harris County)
- Brooke Elementary (Travis County)
“We sincerely appreciate our school partners and volunteers. This opportunity would not be possible without their support and participation. We are all excited to receive funding that will provide the needed resources to make a positive impact on areas in Texas that are disproportionately impacted by obesity”, stated Dawn Burton, Health Coordinator for Prairie View A&M University’s Cooperative Extension Program.
The grant timeline included a planning year in 2017, and project implementation that began in September 2018. Fall project funds for Cameron County were used to assist Sullivan Elementary in the building of the first greenhouse in San Benito Independent School District. You can read more about it here.
Three of Texas A&M AgriLife Extension’s signature programs will be used: Learn, Grow, Eat, & Go!, Junior Master Gardner, and Walk Across Texas. Lessons from Junior Master Gardener and Learn, Grow, Eat, & Go! will teach children and parents about gardening and nutrition through a science-backed curriculum shown to help reduce obesity. Walk Across Texas programming at the six sites will stress the importance of exercise by using teaching tools shown to improve physical activity and wellness in adults and youth across the state.
David Wright and Rukeia Draw-Hood serve as project directors for their respective institutions. Other key personnel include Dawn Burton, Janelle Cason, Courtney Dodd, and Scott Cummings. Participating Prairie View Cooperative extension agents include Guadalupe Castro and Nathan Tucker. Kimberly Burgess-Neloms serves as the CYFAR coach. The National Program Leader for the grant is Bonita Williams.
For additional information on the Growing U project, contact
Dawn E. Burton
deburton@pvamu.edu
(713) 797-7032