Eight Area Schools Join ‘Fuel Up To Play 60’ Program
By Space Coast Daily // August 22, 2012
BREVARD COUNTY • VIERA, FLORIDA – Eight schools on the Space Coast have been awarded $4,000 grants sponsored by the National Dairy Council and the NFL to implement wellness and nutrition programs.
The Fuel Up to Play 60 grants are intended to encourage students to eat nutrient-rich foods and perform a minimum of 60 minutes of physical activity every day.
Created in partnership by National Dairy Council and the National Football League, the Fuel Up to Play 60 program empowers children to take actions to improve nutrition and physical activity at their school and for their own health.
The ultimate goal is to ensure changes made at school are sustainable, making it possible for children to have more opportunities to be physically active and to eat tastier options of nutrient-rich foods like low-fat and fat-free milk, fruit, whole grains and vegetables throughout the school campus.
By making changes in the school environment, students are more likely to meet the government recommendations for daily physical activity of 60 minutes and eat the appropriate number of servings from the food groups students need most.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has joined Fuel Up to Play 60, along with multiple health organizations and several major corporations.
Fuel Up to Play 60 is funded with an initial private sector financial commitment of $250 million over five years by America’s Dairy Farmers. Funding is expected to grow as government, business, communities and families join this effort. More than 58,000, or 60 percent, of the nation’s 96,000 private and public schools are currently enrolled in Fuel Up to Play 60.
This effort is needed now, more than ever. It is possible that today’s children could become the first American generation with a shorter life expectancy than their parents.
One-third of American children are overweight or obese. The obesity prevalence is about three to four times that of just one generation ago, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Brevard schools participating in the program include Apollo Elementary School in Titusville, Astronaut High School in Titusville, Eau Gallie High School in Melbourne, Golfview Elementary Magnet School in Rockledge, Melbourne High School, Mims Elementary School, Theodore Roosevelt Elementary School in Cocoa Beach and Westside Elementary School in Palm Bay.
