"Let's Move" Honors KSC's Early Sprouts

“Let’s Move,” a national initiative to end childhood obesity, is honoring Keene State’s own Early Sprouts program. Aimed to change the way generations of children think about food and nutrition, “Let’s Move,” championed by First Lady Michelle Obama, combats a virtual epidemic of childhood obesity through a comprehensive program that engages children, families, schools, and communities.

Early Sprouts is an award-winning curriculum developed in 2006 by Keene State educators Karrie Kalich, Dottie Bauer, and Deirdre McPartlin to encourage preschoolers to eat vegetables. Children grow vegetables in raised beds, harvest their crops, and help prepare simple, healthy meals. Early Sprouts was piloted in KSC’s Child Development Center and is now being implemented in childcare centers in ten states. The curriculum has been shown to significantly increase the consumption of vegetables and fruits in preschool and home environments.

The City of Keene has been chosen as one of ten national sites to host a celebration honoring the first anniversary of “Let’s Move.” Early Sprouts and two other community health programs will be highlighted. President Helen F. Giles-Gee and several other local and national officials will attend the celebration at the Keene Rec Center on Washington Street on Tuesday, Feb. 8, from 3 to 5 p.m. The public is welcome. For more information, please call Dr. Karrie Kalich, Department of Health Science, 603-358-2885, or Eve Alintuck, director of Marketing and Communications, 603-358-2101.