Peggy M. Visio, MS, RD, LD
Methodist Healthcare Ministries
San Antonio, Texas

Get FIT is a community-based initiative to fight childhood obesity. It is built on the principle that people want healthy children who will grow up to have productive lives. As such, Get FIT challenges all adults to be role models for the children of their community.

(image: photo of children at the pool, and "Get FIT" logo)

The number of overweight children in Eagle Pass elementary schools is twice the national average.

(image: two bar graphs titled "Percentage Elementary Students Who Were Overweight,* EPISD Target Schools,¹ 2005-2006 Academic Year" and "Percent of Overweight Children Ages 6 to 19, by Age, Selected Years 1976-2004")

• 1 in 2 children are "at risk" of being overweight
• 1 in 3 children are already overweight
• 1 in 4 children are obese

(image: photos of "overweight" children)

• Get FIT classes for parents and children at 4 target schools
• Healthy eating cafeteria promotions
• Get FIT Saturday walking club
• Camp Get FIT – 4 week summer camp
• "Fueled for Flight" curriculum taught to "Gifted and Talented" students at all 16 EPISD elementary schools (>900 students)
• Walk-a-thon
• Community Health Fair
• EPISD breakfast and lunch menus analyzed using NutriKids software

(image: photos of kids, and swimming pool full of kids)

(image: diagram with "Overweight Child" surrounded by "role models")

(image: diagram titled "How Get FIT works" illustrating that the program director teaches the teachers who in turn train school Teachers, Nurse, Cafeteria workers, PE instructors, who implement Club Get FIT, Parent's Night, and Family Get FIT Programs)

Bicycles, non-motorized scooters, t-shirts, water bottles, Sony walkman, Frisbees, pedometers, cookbooks.

(image: two photos of children, one with new bike, one with a new scooter)

• Television
• Print media
• Web site www.mhm.org
• Marketing your program
  • Different marketing tools for various audiences
  • St. Mary's Academic Imaging and Media Center
• Make the school district and community look first-class
• Bring PR to the Health Collaborative
• Schools are willing to negotiate because they want the Get FIT program

(image: photo of three smiling school administrators)

	Enrolled	Completed
Families intervention classes	194	99
Work site wellness programs	38	23
Staff in-services - EPISD and Kickapoo Head Start	35	35
Healthy eating promotions - HB Gonzalez elementary school	500	500
Get FIT Saturday morning walking club	22	15
Camp Get FIT	140	130
Camp Get FIT Positive Parenting Classes	50	26
Gifted and Talented mentoring program	900	900
Community members hired and trained	14	14
Total	1,893	1,707

• National School Lunch Program
• School Breakfast Program
• After School Snack Program
• Seamless Summer Program

(image: photos of school children enjoying school lunch)

During FY '05 :

• Approximately 4.3 million Texas schoolchildren have access to meals under these programs.
• Texas school districts received over $1 billion in federal funding for these meals.
• Texas school districts received nearly $14 M more in state funds.
• Additionally, $100 M in USDA donated foods were distributed to Texas school districts.

TDA Strategic Plan, 2006
www.squaremeals.org

• Free breakfast and lunch for all children within school district if 60% of population lives below poverty level
• Texas leads the Nation in number of schools with Provision 2 alternative to school lunch and breakfast programs, 2004
• More than 2 million Texas schoolchildren were approved for free meals, and 380,000 students were approved for reduced-price meals
• School districts are reimbursed a set amount based on number of children eating at school that day

www.squaremeals.org

FY 2006 Surplus Commodities, these are available in addition to commodities already received by Provision 2 school.

• Fresh apples
• Frozen and canned asparagus
• Canned apple juice
• Pineapple juice
• Cranberry Juice Concentrate
• Canned Apricots
• Applesauce
• Mixed fruit
• Peaches
• Dehydrated Potatoes
• Fresh and canned sweet potatoes

(image: photo of child during PE at school)

Cost: $0.26 Provision 2 Reimbursement: $2.42 Calories - 892 Fat - 31% CHO - 55% Pro - 15% Sodium - 1703mg. Fiber - 7 gms.

Food Cost at Camp Get FIT $ 0.89/meal Calories - 592 Fat - 25% CHO - 55% Pro - 20% Sodium - 770mg. Fiber - 11 gms.

Nutritional analysis averaged over 1 week

(image: photo two school lunches, one healthy and one not-so-healthy)

Table 7: Average Profit and Loss of School Food Service Programs

School District Size	Average Profit of School Food Service Program	Average Loss of School Food Service Program
Very Large	$11,914,786 (1)	Not Reported
Large	$978,688 (9)	$143,632 (6)
Medium	$481,010 (16)	$$318,487 (4)
Small	$219,160 (59)	$90,746 (18)
Very Small	$28,787 (130)	$37,353 (365)
Totals	$209,729 (215)	$45,339 (394)

Reported Profits	$ 45,091,735
Reported Losses	$ (17,863,566)
Net Difference	$ 27,288,169

Joint Interim committee on Nutrition and Health in Public Schools, 78th Legislative
Interim, Senate Bill 474 by Senator Eddie Lucio, Jr. Chairman

• Milk
• Fresh Fruits and vegetables
• Fewer pre-packaged foods
• Guidelines for sodium
• Guidelines for fiber
• Accountability

(image: photo of 3 cartons of milk, with the amount of sugar each contains (in sugar cubes) in front of each)

When given a choice….children choose chocolate milk. Low-fat chocolate milk contains 70 calories more per cup than low-fat white milk.

If a child who drank chocolate milk for breakfast and lunch replaced it with white milk (same fat content) he/she could lose 8 pounds over 1 year…all else remaining the same.

(image: photo of school lunch, and photo of little girl eating school lunch)

(image: bar graph titled "Percent of Children Consuming All Their Skim Milk")

(image: bar graph titled "Percent Fruit Consumption by Campers")

(image: bar graph titled "Percent Vegetable Consumption by Campers")

(image: bar graph titled "Camper's BMI Over Time")

(image: bar graph titled "BMI Changes – Girls Compared to Boys")

(image: bar graph titled "Psychosocial Functioning Screening Test (n=74)")

(image: photo of several children campers)

(image: photos of "overweight" children)

Summer Camp
Sports Teams
Saturday Morning Walking Club

(image: photos of "Summer Camp", "Sports Teams" and the "Saturday Morning Walking Club")

We all want healthy children who will grow up to be productive adults of tomorrow.

(image: photo of happy campers)