The Holyoke Wellness effort strives to improve health outcomes by addressing the social determinants of health, including decreasing levels of childhood obesity and rates of chronic disease particularly among vulnerable children, while cultivating the Holyoke community’s capacity for leadership, civic engagement, and policy advocacy. Specifically, HFFPC’s School Wellness Initiative seeks to make school wellness a priority within the Holyoke Public School System culture and overall school environment. The change effort aims to have schools promoting and encouraging healthy eating, physical activity, and nutrition and physical education among students. Schools can become a place where kids learn healthy lifelong habits and prepare themselves to succeed in the classroom and beyond.

District Wellness Policy Council

In spring of 2011, the Holyoke District Wellness Policy Council was officially launched, to serve as a subcommittee of the district’s Health Advisory Board. HFFPC is working to provide a condensed and simplified version of the 8 page district wellness policy to enable school staff and parents to better understand the suggested recommendations for food and exercise in the district.  The district superintendent encouraged all school principals to help start school wellness groups in their respective schools to help assess current conditions and advocate for needed changes in their individual schools.

Farm to School

Holyoke Food and Fitness Policy Council is working towards incorporating more healthy locally grown food into the school meals program as part of a larger school wellness and farm to school goal.

We have formed the School Food Taskforce, a collaboration between parents, teachers, school nurses, school food providers, students, principals, government agencies, community development agencies, and a variety of other members of the greater Holyoke community. The School Food task force will work towards more nutitious menus and local food procurement, and advocate for new and innovative food service projects such as Breakfast in the Classroom and USDA’s Fresh Fruits and Vegetables Snack Program.

Kindergarten Initiative

Holyoke Food and Fitness is very pleased to implement the Holyoke Kindergarten Initiative at Kelly, Sullivan, and Donohue schools beginning in Fall 2012.  The Kindergarten Initiative is a comprehensive early childhood nutrition program that uses locally-grown foods to teach children about healthy eating and where food is grown here in Massachusetts.  The Initiative contains six components that combine to offer students and their families powerful, sensory-based exposures to delicious and nutritious foods.  Students will experience field trips to area farms, learn from a new nutrition-focused curriculum, enjoy healthy fruit and vegetable classroom snacks, and plant and harvest in their school garden.  Kindergarten families are also included, receiving fresh produce packages with recipes and nutrition information, and attending family cooking events throughout the school year.   We know that kids learn better when they eat better, and the Kindergarten Initiative is an excellent tool to promote a lifetime of healthy, nutritious eating here in Holyoke.

Safe Routes to School / Walking School Bus

There is currently one school in Holyoke which has an active Safe Routes to School program, led by a parent volunteer who accompanies children to and from school to ensure their safe delivery.  We are working with leaders from this school to expand the Safe Routes to School program to several other Holyoke schools in the 2011-2012 school year.