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Community
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Asthma
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Physical Activity
Foot Lake 4 Walk/Run
The Foot Lake 4 Walk / Run is one of the premier events that takes place each year during Willmar Fests. It is designed to provide fun and safety for all age groups and levels of participation. The Foot Lake 4 is an event for the whole family. The USATF-certified 4-mile course starts and finishes at Rice Memorial Hospital.
The Foot Lake 4 was held on June 27th, 2009. To see race results, click here.
Girls Night Out
The CDC’s School Health Index revealed that health education was only provided for one trimester during seventh grade, and many vital topics such as nutrition were not covered in the curriculum at Willmar Jr. High School. In addition, students from Willmar JHS were not receiving 225 minutes of physical education per week, as recommended by the CDC in its evidence-based research.
Steps to a Healthier Willmar proposed the creation of a collaborative program with the local YMCA that would expand existing Y programming and provide staff to support the expansion. As a result, Girls Night Out (GNO) was developed.
GNO targets 20–25 seventh and eighth grade girls in Willmar. The YMCA opens its doors once a month for the program, so that participants can have fun and feel comfortable engaging in physical activity in an all-female environment.
- The program originally started in January 2006 and continues to run from January–June and consists of a series of seven gatherings focusing on being strong in spirit, mind, and body. Meeting topics included the importance of exercise and healthy eating; stress management; goal setting; healthy relationships; drug and alcohol use; and the media’s influence on teenagers and their developing self-esteem.
- Each gathering consists of 20 minutes of physical activity designed for all fitness levels; a light, healthy snack; a topic activity and discussion; and a “chat circle” to discuss participants’ concerns or questions. Community members serve as guest speakers and role models.
- Donated transportation provides opportunities for the participants to socialize to and from the gatherings.
Girls Night Out has been a positive experience for the participants. Comments from evaluations included the following:
- I enjoyed learning about proper nutrition and dance.
- The exercise was fun! I felt much better when I was finished.
- I loved that I got to walk and get to talk with my friends.
- I like that we can talk about things freely.
- I liked doing exercises I don’t usually do.
- I learned some interesting things about my body.
- Girls Night Out taught me that I can do fun, physical stuff at home.
- Girls Night Out taught me that everyone is beautiful in their own way.
- I learned what is healthy and good for myself.
Girls Night Out provides an enjoyable and comfortable environment for girls to be physically active, learn about healthy behaviors, socialize with each other, as well as discuss critical issues shaping their development like self-esteem.
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Nutrition
YMCA Children's Garden
Community Garden
Kandiyohi County Food System Steering Committee
YMCA Children's Garden
The YMCA Children's Garden has been a great addition to the YMCA Day Camp which is a 12 week summer program. The Children’s Garden is located behind the YMCA which is visited at least weekly by the summer camp attendees. Each week the kids have an opportunity to dig their hands into the soil and experience the joy of growing their own produce and learning that their food doesn’t magically appear at the grocery store. By mid summer they can start to enjoy their produce and even bring some home with them. On the day they are in the garden they also receive a nutrition lesson and an agricultural lesson.
The YMCA Children’s Garden is an established program. Each year the garden has grown in size or in the types of produce grown. This summer the garden is 100 yards long x 20 yards wide. There are many vegetables grown, along with fruit, herbs and flowers. Last summer several apple and pear trees were planted.
This program has been a collaboration with the Steps to a Healthier Willmar, Kandiyohi County Area Family YMCA and the U of M Extension.
Community Garden
In 2008, there will be two garden sites. In addition to the current site on 7th Street, another garden is being developed behind the Willmar Senior Citizen and Community Center. This location is not just for seniors. Anyone can garden at either site.
For more information about the community gardens in Willmar, please call 231-7852.
A community garden is a large garden where people share the basic resources of land, water and sunlight to grow food and other crops. Individuals or families can rent a section of the larger garden for their own use. Gardeners are involved in the spring start-up and fall clean-up of the larger garden and have the responsibility to maintain their plot throughout the season. Community gardens offer social and cultural interaction, improved nutrition, reduced food costs and opportunities for recreation, exercise and education.
Kandiyohi County Food System Steering Committee
The purpose of the Kandiyohi County Food System Steering Committee is to ensure all residents of Kandiyohi County have access to healthy, nutritious food at all times. Achieving this purpose
· prepares for food emergencies from natural, terroristic, or other disasters;
· provides enhanced local economic opportunities for farmers, processors, distributors, food wholesalers/retailers and waste and composters to receive a fair living wage from participating in the food system;
· creates a food system that improves local natural resources, such as soil, water and air;
· provides networking opportunities for residents to develop collaborative solutions to challenges in the local food system; and
· creates educational opportunities for residents and local leaders to take action and improve the local food system.
The committee will be conducting a food assessment of the Willmar and Kandiyohi County area. The assessment takes in account all parts of a food system including: production, processing, distribution, consumption, and recycling food wastes.
Food assessments can include formal and informal collection of data through inventories, surveys and community meetings. The assessment’s purpose is to help local residents and the Steering Committee identify challenges and opportunities within the local food system.
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Events Calendar
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Minnesota
