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Healthy Living After School

Dr. Karrie Kalich and Dr. Marjorie Droppa, associate professors of health science, have been awarded a $2,000 grant from the Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Foundation to develop an evidence-based nutrition and physical activity after- school program that combines elements of the CATCH (Coordinated Approach to Child Health) and Early Sprouts initiatives.

CATCH is a daily curriculum-based health promotion program designed to encourage physical activity and healthy food choices among children from preschool through grade 8. The Early Sprouts program encourages preschool children to enjoy healthy eating by involving them in planting, raising, harvesting, and cooking organic vegetables. Drs. Kalich and Droppa hope to develop a model that combines aspects of these two programs into something that after-school staff can use to provide effective nutrition and physical activity for their charges. The developed model will be pilot tested at the Parks and Recreation Center in Keene, New Hampshire.

Additional support of the project comes from the Cheshire County Healthy Eating Active Living (HEAL) Advisory Board, which has contributed an additional $10,000 in matching funds to the program goals, and Antioch University New England, which has pledged in-kind support.

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