In a nation where obesity is a perennial health issue, N.C. State students are setting their sights on reducing childhood obesity as they compete for the Institute for Emerging Issues’ Prize for Innovation.
Allison Hofmann, a junior in nutritional science and leader of one of the five finalist groups, said she hopes her “Fruit of the Month Club” will be well-received.
This year, the IEI Prize for Innovation has awarded each of the five finalist groups $1,000; IEI will award one group of full-time students $5,000 for the most “innovative, effective and scalable solution,” according to IEI.
Hofmann said she has had success with her program in the past and said she believes the program will continue to be successful.
“I originally tested this program a few years ago by partnering with my local Food Lion. The Fruit of the Month Club provides children signed up for the program with a different fruit or vegetable each month,” said Hofmann.
The program also involves putting parents on a listserv “where I sent out emails with information about the fruit or vegetable, healthy recipes and more,” said Hofmann. “The goal with this is to expand children’s food horizons of many kids who otherwise may not be able to try fruits other than the basic bananas, apples or oranges.”
Allison Dipper, a senior in biological sciences and partner in the Fruit of the Month Club, said extra exposure to a variety of healthy foods is especially important for children. “This project allows a lot of children to try new fruits and veggies with the mindset of eliminating childhood obesity,” she said.
“Children need a lot of exposure to new fruits and veggies; the average is 10 to 15 times, before they will accept it and eat it willingly. But for economically disadvantaged families, that is a lot of food and money to waste on trying to get their children to eat new fruits and veggies,” said Dipper.
Hofmann said she thinks this idea will resonate with both the IEI judges and the public.
“The issue of childhood obesity is so widespread and intimidating that we need a large-scale program that uses the community. Eating habits are largely influenced within families, so to be able to work with communities and families to reverse trend of childhood obesity at grassroots level is the best way to tackle this and the Fruit of the Month Club does this,” said Hofmann.
The Fruit of the Month Club is not the only project NCSU students and faculty are involved in that made it to the finals.
Tessa Thraves, extension associate in horticultural science, is the faculty adviser for a group of students from several different universities working together to create what she calls a “youth food council.”
According to Thraves, this idea has its origins in the statewide food council created in April 2010.
“The youth who put forward this proposal have experience with national youth networking efforts, local initiative in their home locales and summer internship programs. They see the value of networking and collaboration,” said Thraves. “Now at their respective colleges, they are positioned well to build a statewide network of youth who are doing food work across the state, particularly as a way to address our obesity epidemic and health crisis through good food access.”
To students like Kelly Gupton, a freshman in elementary education, this council would fulfill a great need in public school systems, especially for elementary school students.
“Not only do schools not include near enough physical education for younger students, they are serving them unhealthy foods,” said Gupton. “When kids become overweight or obese they often lose confidence in themselves. They are made fun of and then they sometimes stop trying.”
Gupton also said the Fruit of the Month Club project has its own merits.
“Some schools have tried to make their lunches healthier, but then they just end up continuing to serve pizza every day. Even if schools want to keep serving pizza, at least make it a requirement for students to have a fruit or vegetable with every meal they get at school.” said Gupton. “And French fries don’t count.”
The final section of the competition requires finalists to create a three minute video explaining their project and convincing the public to vote for their idea. According to IEI, the general public will be invited to vote for the project they feel is best on Feb. 7 when the videos are shown during the Emerging Issues Forum.
Hofmann said the IEI competition will not be the final time the public sees the Fruit of the Month Club. Regardless of the outcome, she said she will continue to try to see her idea come to fruition and also plans to reach out to include children in the foster care system.
“We certainly plan on growing the Fruit of the Month Club, and we are recruiting many nutrition science majors within the University,” said Hofmann. “Any work you can do with kids and be a really good role model for children promotes healthy eating, life or education is the best way to volunteer your time, especially when these kids are at an age where they idealize college students.”