The Dannon Company Inc. applied its nutrition-education efforts close to its corporate home in White Plains last week with a $19,500 grant to an after-school program for middle-school youths.
The company”™s second annual Dannon Next Generation Nutrition Grant will be used by Cornell Cooperative Extension (CCE) of Westchester County to support its “Shake & Bake” program. Aimed at improving dietary and fitness habits, the program will be offered to 75 middle-school students through the White Plains Youth Bureau and its after-school program, Club Excel.
The program will consist of two weekly classes in nutrition and fitness held in a series of seven eight-week courses. It will include cooking demonstrations and classes, shopping for healthy meals, interactive nutrition lessons and food safety and fitness classes in which youths will log daily activity and progress. Youths at graduation will prepare a meal for their parents.
Dannon officials pointed to federal Centers for Disease Control statistics showing that obesity rates have doubled among children and tripled among adolescents since 1980. Nearly 22 percent of New York adults are obese.
“Children are especially receptive to heeding principles of good nutrition, healthy lifestyle and regular exercise when these things are taught in a fun and nontraditional setting,” said CCE Executive Director Barbara Sacks. “Dannon”™s grant is an investment in the future and will have many-fold returns for years to come.”
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