December 2011 Highlights « Back

Fuel Up to Play 60 in Illinois

The Illinois School Nutrition Association board has pledged its support to the guiding principles of Fuel Up to Play 60, to help end childhood obesity within a generation, which includes empowering youth to take action to develop pathways to better fitness and nutrition for life.  This group joins the Illinois Academy of Family Physicians and the Illinois chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics in pledging its support in Illinois.

More than 450 school nurses joined your Health and Wellness staff members, Sandra Brown, Kristin Frank and Lorna Riggs, in a milk toast at Illinois School Health Days meetings.  The toasts were a salute to Illinois dairy farmers, providers of wholesome and nutritious dairy products for schools and funders of programs like Fuel Up to Play 60, and to school nurses for their role in shaping the healthy eating and physical activity habits of students. Working with the Illinois Department of Human Services’ school health program coordinator, Midwest Dairy provided Fuel Up to Play 60 flyers at all five meeting locations, reaching more than 800 school nurses and health educators.

About 100 students participated in two sessions presented by Midwest Dairy at the FCCLA conference in Springfield, learning about Fuel Up to Play 60 and hearing more about dairy nutrition.  Students sampled yogurts and nonfat flavored milk, and volunteers led a physical activity break. The response was genuine from high school students, as they asked questions, eager to win prizes and ready to talk with their advisor about the program.  Brenda Meyers, FCCLA state officer advisor and dairy producer, and her daughter, state officer Torri Meyer, spoke with us after the presentation about further engagement with the FCCLA state meeting next April.  There is also a discussion underway about the possibility of statewide collaboration with the implementation of Fuel Up to Play 60 in high schools with Family and Consumer Science programs, and FCCLA.

Will Hogan, a physical education teacher in Elmhurst, Ill., received the most votes in the 4th Phase Captain contest sponsored by Midwest Dairy Council and the Chicago Bears. He’ll receive the 4th Phase Flag from a Chicago Bears starter during a pre-game introduction ceremony at Soldier Field on December 4. Up to seven students can participate with Will on the field to present the flag.  He also was the recipient of two tickets with on-field passes for the game.  His school also won five sets of two tickets each.   More than 24,000 votes were received in the contest, drawing many new visitors to the Illinois landing page at midwestdairy.com.

Midwest Dairy promoted Fuel Up to Play 60 at the Illinois Association of Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance (IAPHERD) Conference in November in St. Charles.  We presented the Fuel Up to Play 60 program to more than 80 members during a session offered by the St. Louis District Dairy Council. Midwest Dairy also assisted at the SLDDC exhibit booth. IAPHERD’s executive director agreed to include the funding information flyers in the packets of the 3,000 conference attendees.

Action for Healthy Kids’ “Chicago-Get in the Action” Day includes the first-ever Fuel Up to Play 60/Bears logo displayed prominently at three Chicago Public Schools.  The logos are on the schools’ outdoor playscapes, fitness room and gymnasium mural. In addition, dairy products are being featured in each school’s “taste and vote” activity.  More than 2,000 students in all grades are impacted.  Each school is receiving help from Midwest Dairy’s staff members, with a goal that Fuel Up to Play 60 and dairy will be an integral part of the day.  An acclaimed Chicago artist/muralist was hired to develop the logos.

A few other Fuel Up to Play 60 notes:

• A district-wide meeting for Valley View SD 365U in November helped to educate school stakeholders on Fuel Up to Play 60. 
• A Let’s Move! Chefs Move to Schools chef will be assisting some Illinois Fuel Up to Play 60 schools with the upcoming student Cooking Show Challenge, incorporating a lot of low fat and fat-free dairy, along with other Food Groups to Encourage.
• A call has been put out to adult Fuel Up to Play 60 leaders, asking them to write about the program from their perspective for the Goal Post, the northern Illinois newsletter. These key advisors can serve to inspire others to become champions for the program.
• A Fuel Up to Play 60 recruitment effort is underway, hoping to result in new program advisors. Advisors spearhead the program at the school level.  So far, 21 new advisors have signed on and will be given tools to help them get started.
• Nettelhorst, in the Chicago district, won the Back to School Back to Football Challenge with an online video that shows how they are fueling up to play 60. As a result, 50 students and staff are going to Halas Hall Dec 8 for the Bears All Access Radio show taping and dinner in the players’ cafeteria, including dairy, of course!

Other Illinois Updates

We’re preparing to post application information for both our Illinois internship, and the scholarships offered by Midwest Dairy Association.  The intern applications will be due January 31 and our scholarship program deadline is March 1. Please watch for our posting at midwestdairycheckoff.com.

Congratulations to Don Ellingson of Poplar Grove for being honored with the Dairy Industry Service Award from the Illinois Milk Producers’ Association.  He has been actively engaged in dairy farming for 66 years.  The Ellingson family’s cow herd is the longest continually classified Holstein herd in the country.  He has served on the Illinois Milk Promotion Board for 24 years and on our Midwest Dairy Chicago Division Board since Illinois joined the organization.  Thanks, Don, for your service and dedication.