BUILD HEALTHY KIDS® SCHOOL &/or COMMUNITY PROGRAM
Do you want to change the way your child eats? Would you like your son or daughter to play more instead of being glued to a video game? Does your child’s school do a good job teaching him or her about nutrition and exercise? If not the BHK® school and community program is designed for your community and your child’s school. The great news is it is free! All you have to do is follow the steps below.
The foundation of the Build Healthy Kids School Program is a monthly newsletter that is available in English and Spanish free of charge to schools and communities. One side is dedicated to adults: parents, teachers and food service staff, and the other side speaks to the children. The Build Healthy Kids School Program is NOT a curriculum, it is an outline to help schools and communities to pull together the health and wellness (nutrition and exercise messages) that families and children hear in their local communities. It works with any and all existing programs as well as schools that have little to no time to teach nutrition. It is user friendly and was built with the busy teacher and busy parent in mind.
If you need convincing on why the program is so needed watch this YouTube video Build Healthy Kids Call to Action
STEP 1 IDENTIFY THE BHK® CREW CHIEF & the CONSTUCTION CREW To begin, it is essential that you identify a crew chief to be the voice of BHK® in your school and/or community. If you are reading this than you may be the best choice. You do not need any specific background or skills. All you need is one big heart that is passionate about our children’s health and the motivation to make a lasting change. Do not ever underestimate the power you have! One person’s efforts can shift the health of our kids. Next identify others who would be willing to get involved. The more people you have on board the stronger your BHK® school and community program will become. If you do not currently know of anyone, don’t worry, once you begin you will be surprised at the interest in your town or school.
STEP 2 INTRODUCE BHK® TO THE SCHOOL
1. The crew chief will introduce the program to the school through any of the following avenues:
- The PTO/PTA
- The school nurse
- The schools health and wellness committee
- Directly to the principle or superintendent
2. Print out the any or all of the following letters and samples and to give to the school representative
BHK INtroduction Letter for Schools
Build Healthy Kids Outline for Schools
3. Work with the school to encourage them to participate and contact the BHK® team if there are issues or questions that come up email Drdeb@Buildhealthykids.com
STEP 3 CHOOSE THE BHK® TOPICS/MODULES
The BHK® school program can work one of several ways. Your school can follow the 1. yearly calendar that is listed below OR 2.you can choose as many or as few modules that you want OR you can ask for the School Nutrition Program, a 9 month program that focuses on only the nutrition building blocks. Some schools choose just the nutrition related themes of which there are 9 and stick to those while others stick to the monthly themes so that the parents can be supported through the BHK® social media platform (Face Book, tele-conference and twitter)
Feel free to pick and choose, mix and match. Each school and community has their own needs, Build Healthy Kids is designed to work anywhere and anyway.
Month BHK Monthly Topic National Health Themes
September Grains Whole Grains Month
October Vegetables National Farm to School Month
November Treats National Diabetes Month
December Calcium/Vit D Cold/Flu Season
January Protein
February Fats American Heart Month
March Soda/Juice National Nutrition Month
April Sedentary National Turn Off TV Month
May Sodium High BP Education Month
June Fruit National Fruit and Vegetable Month
July Exercise
August Involve Kids Family Meals Month
STEP 4 SIGN UP FOR THE FREE SCHOOL PROGRAM BY SENDING AN EMAIL TO DrDeb@Buildhealthykids.com and put SCHOOL in the subject heading.
NOTE: There is a research arm that is optional. An online survey is available to schools and communities that want to measure the success of the program. The survey measures behavior, knowledge and likeability changes. ContactResearch@Buildhealthykids.com for more information.
Step 5 SIGNAGE
Determine if you want to buy signage for the school or community. Banners for the cafeteria, posters for the classroom and entrance banners are available.
[click here to see the general signs, cafeteria signs, and classroom posters]
To pay for the signs either work through the school’s PTA/PTO to raise money or approach a community member that may be interested in sponsoring the signs. There is room on the signs to put a “sponsored by…” and logo.
To order [Link to fast signs]
STEP 6 INVITE THE LOCAL COMMUNITY
Now that you have the school involved, feel free to invite the local community to participate. Even if you didn’t get the school to agree you can go to other members in your community. Some examples of Community involvement are listed below.
LIBRARY:
- Place monthly signs in areas where the public can view them Set aside a section for BHK® reference materials. Each month new books that focus on the monthly theme are pulled and displayed.
- The local library is also a great place to have local health and wellness practitioners or chefs give a talk on the monthly topic
- Distribute newsletters monthly
PEDIATRICIAN
- Distribute newsletters
- Run a support group on the monthly topic (run by nurse, physician or nutritionist)
- Talk to their patients during office visits to reinforce the monthly message Place monthly signs in areas where the public can view them
Click here Build Healthy Kids summary for Pediatricians for a handout to give your local pediatrician
RESTAURANTS
- Local chefs can give demonstrations in their kitchen, at the school, or in a local kitchen with a focus on the month’s theme. “How to cook with whole grains”, “ serving up healthy protein” are just two examples.
- Distribute newsletters
- Place monthly signs in areas where the public can view them
- Create healthy recipes they share with families
- Work with the schools food service to help create healthful recipes to be served in schools.
COMMUNITY CENTER
- Hold classes that teach parents and their children the messages in each theme: exercise classes, cooking classes, nutrition lectures for kids and parents alike for example.
- Distribute newsletters
- Place monthly signs in areas where the public can view them
LOCAL MARKET/GROCERY STORE
- Highlight the items in the monthly theme
- Discount monthly themed items: vegetables in October, fruit in X for example
- Distribute newsletter
- Place monthly signs in areas where the public can view them
EVERYONE IS INVITED Local churches, fitness clubs, dentist offices, are also great places to approach. Add your own look and feel and make it your own.
STEP 7 SHARE YOUR STORY
Provide feedback to BHK® so others can see what you are doing. We can all learn from each other. When we share our successes and failures, it makes it easier for others to launch the BHK® program in their town. Send messages to Dr Deb at DrDeb@Buildhealthykids.com
Dr. Debbie Kennedy (Dr. Deb) is a pediatric nutritionist with 23 years of experience in the field. She has worked with both Yale and Columbia Universities, and has developed programs for some of the industry’s luminaries such as Dr. David Katz and Dr. Mehmet Oz. 
