By

Caitlin Lorenc,   Manton Consolidated Middle S

Play:

Fight Hunger — Help Nourish Your Community

Topics:

Access to Healthy Foods, Community Involvement, Student Leadership,  Teamwork

Through Fuel Up to Play 60, Manton Middle School has been focusing on increasing access to physical activity options and promoting healthy eating choices in our cafeteria. The student team has been working hard to make sure their peers are informed about healthy options by increasing cafeteria signage and promoting locally sourced foods. They’ve helped their classmates attend field trips to learn more about food production and to increase knowledge of where food comes from, and to create a connection between students and farmers. These students weren’t finished yet. The middle school decided to encourage others to make healthy choices by helping their community have access to healthy food options as well. Project Christmas is a community supported event that is committed to serving those who have experienced financial difficulties so they can have a good Christmas. The Manton Rangers took this challenge head on by donating over 10,000 cans. With the donation from the middle school, as well as donations from other community organizations, personal donations, and area businesses, thousands of families were served this year. Students were excited to help and created quite a school-wide competition. They are also responsible for delivering the goods to the event. Our success would not have been possible without support from administration and the competitive spirit of our staff and students. By creating a healthier community, we are ensuring our school will be a healthier place as well!

How did students and adults work together as a team?

Through their homeroom classes, students and teachers worked together to gather as many healthy canned good options as they could to support their local organization in feeding their community. It took a lot of communication and coordination and was done with a fun competitive spirit!