The summer recreation playground programs for youth focused on heart-healthy eating and physical activity. Throughout the summer, the youth participated in CATCH games.
A special FunFit day was held – complete with kick ball games, a basketball tournament, CATCH activities, arts and crafts projects, and prizes. Over 300 children attended this event. The youth also learned about choosing healthy foods and food preparation through classes and the meals that were served. Partnerships with the local community played a vital role in the healthy eating program. The Muskegon Heights Food Service provided breakfast and lunch to the children, including fruits and vegetables, and leaner meats. Farmers' Market vendors and Plumbs Value-Rite stores donated food and produce for the children and their families throughout the city. In addition, the youth were encouraged to start a vegetable garden at home with plants that were given to them at some of the program locations.
Program Information
Name of program
Playground Program A1
Playground Program A2
Playground Program C1
Playground Program C2
Program start and end date
6/16/2003 to 8/8/2003
6/16/2003 to 8/8/2003
6/16/2003 to 8/8/2003
6/16/2003 to 8/8/2003
Number of times program met per week
5
5
5
5
Number of participants (total)
34
16
12
20
Number of male participants
15
11
8
6
Number of female participants
19
5
4
14
Target group
Adolescent
Adolescent
Child
Child
Program focus
Physical Activity
Heart-Healthy Eating
Location of activities
Camp
-
-
-
-
After School
-
-
-
-
Other
Park
Park
City parks
City Park
Materials used
Information Handout
-
Lesson
-
-
-
Activity
Menus
Other
-
-
-
-
Public Visibility
Internal efforts to promote Hearts N' Parks programs:
Bulletin board or information racks
Newsletter or brochure
Employee kickoff
External efforts to promote Hearts N' Parks programs:
Media Coverage:
N/A
Special Event(s):
Health Fair/School Festivals
Number of presentations: N/A
Other: N/A
Partners
Partners who contributed to youth programs:
Partner Name
Partner Contribution
Michigan State Extension Service
Provided educational materials on nutrition and healthy foods. Also did some teaching on healthy eating and provided menus.
Muskegon Farmers' Market
Donated various fruits and vegetables for the children in the playground program.
Plumbs Value-Rite Stores
Provided healthy snacks.
Muskegon Heights Food Service
Provided breakfast and lunch for program participants.
Performance Measures
Playground Program A1 Participants in this adolescent program showed improvement in overweight/obesity knowledge, and heart-healthy eating attitude, behavior, and intention, as well as physical activity level.
Playground Program A2 Adolescent participants showed improvement in overweight/obesity attitude, heart-healthy eating behavior, and heart-healthy eating intention.
Playground Program C1 Children's scores showed improvement in heart-healthy eating knowledge, behavior, and intention, and physical activity attitude.
Playground Program C2 Children in this program showed significant improvement in heart-healthy eating behavior and intention scores. Other improvements were seen in heart-healthy eating knowledge.
Main 2003 Map >
