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News Alert Archives
3-A-Day of Dairy Grants Help Kids Make the Grade in Nutrition 101
Grants Awarded by National Dairy Council Target Importance of Good Nutrition
Rosemont, Ill. August 2, 2004 – From after-school cooking clubs to school-wide nutrition education classes and dairy promotions, children across the U.S. are learning about the health benefits of dairy and the importance of good nutrition through the 3-A-Day of Dairy Nutrition Education Grant Program sponsored by the National Dairy Council (NDC).
“We developed the 3-A-Day of Dairy Nutrition Education Grant Program to help kids develop positive eating habits that will last a lifetime,” said Ann Marie Krautheim, RD, vice president, nutrition and health promotion, National Dairy Council. “Dairy foods like milk, yogurt or cheese are naturally rich in nutrients kids need, including calcium for strong bones and protein for muscle development.”
According to the USDA, 30 percent of children ages 1-5, 60-70 percent of preteens and 70-90 percent of teenagers do not get the recommended amount of calcium in their diets. Milk, yogurt or cheese offer the most naturally-occurring calcium per serving and contain other essential nutrients for good health, including phosphorus, potassium, protein, vitamins D, A and B12, riboflavin and niacin. In the campaign’s inaugural year the NDC awarded five $5,000 nutrition education grants to organizations and individuals proposing innovative, community-based programs aimed at helping children develop positive eating behaviors to improve the overall quality of their diet.
“We selected programs designed to empower kids to be advocates for healthy eating,” said Christina Economos, PhD, a member of the 3-A-Day of Dairy Expert Advisory Panel, 3-A-Day of Dairy grants program judge and assistant professor of nutrition, Tufts University, School of Nutrition Science and Policy. “Childhood and adolescence is a crucial time for kids to develop healthy eating habits, including three daily servings of dairy foods.”
Additional 3-A-Day of Dairy advisory panel members representing the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Dietetic Association and the National Medical Association participated in the review and selection of grant winners.
Following is a brief description of the 2003 3-A-Day of Dairy grant winners and program results:
Albuquerque Public Schools Food and Nutrition Services: formed an after-school Student Nutrition Club under the direction of a registered dietitian to implement a 3-A-Day of Dairy promotion and intervention for about 1,000 students, grades 6-8. Activities included nutrition education sessions and a “Dairy Week” promotion. As a result of the program, awareness of the importance of getting three daily dairy servings increased from 11 percent to 55 percent and overall milk consumption increased by 25 percent.
The YWCA of the City of New York: developed an after-school 3-A-Day of Dairy Healthy Cooking Club for students at Murry Bergtraum high school. Thirty-eight students participated in the club, which met 10 times (under the direction of a registered dietitian), during the school year for two hours. As a result of the classes, 82 percent of students improved their nutrition knowledge, almost half of the students (46 percent) said they would try to eat less chips, soda and candy and 64 percent said they knew they needed three servings of dairy a day to build strong bones.
North Dakota State University Department of Health, Nutrition and Exercise Sciences: developed a “Calcium for Kids” curriculum for five fourth grade classrooms in two schools with the highest percentage of students who received free and reduced-cost lunches. For eight months the messages were targeted to about 400 preteens and their parents. As a result, 65 percent of students correctly identified three as the number of recommended servings of calcium-rich dairy foods for kids, ages 9-18 at the completion of the program, compared to four percent prior to the program. In addition, 67 percent of parents reported offering three or more servings of dairy daily and overall milk consumption at school lunch increased from 76 percent to 84 percent.
University of Wisconsin-Madison Department of Nutrition Services: worked with two local Boy and Girl Scout troops to test the hypothesis that youth who are actively involved in educating younger children about dairy nutrition will improve their own intake of dairy. Both groups attended an educational session on the health benefits of dairy, but only one group was asked to run a campaign to teach younger Boy and Girl Scouts what they learned. The results comparing the two groups’ calcium intakes are still being tallied. Once completed, the University plans to write a full report of the design and results for publication.
St. Joseph School District: developed health education sessions to educate high school students about the health benefits of dairy, focusing on the importance of calcium. Health outreach materials and a “cheese snack day” for the school were incorporated into the program. A vending machine that serves lowfat, flavored and regular milk was installed in the school. Final program results will be available in December.
Due to the success of the 2003 programs, more than 45 3-A-Day of Dairy Nutrition Education Grants were awarded in 2004. To learn more about the 2003 winning programs and to download a complete list of 2004 winning programs, please visit the 3-A-Day of Dairy grant page at www.nationaldairycouncil.org. For more information on the 3-A-Day of Dairy program and to sign up for Get 3!, 3-A-Day of Dairy’s monthly e-newsletter offering nutrition advice and subscriber-only freebies, please visit www.3aday.org.
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The 3-A-Day of Dairy nutrition-based marketing and consumer education campaign was launched by the American Dairy Association/National Dairy Council (ADA/NDC) in January 2003. 3-A-Day of Dairy is supported by integrated marketing efforts including retail promotions, public relations, online marketing and advertising. The ADA/NDC is managed by Dairy Management Inc., the nonprofit domestic and international marketing, planning and management organization for U.S.-produced dairy products on behalf of America’s dairy farmers. The 3-A-Day logo is a mark owned by Dairy Management Inc.
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