Special activities in Kansas bring nutrition to life

Food and Nutrition, July, 1985 by Joanne Widner

The Kansas State Department of Education is undertaking three separate activites to bring the message of good nutrition to young Kansans and their parents. In each case, the department has involved other groups in the state in cooperative efforts designed to spread still further in coming years.

Food and history a winning mix

In one project, called "Kansas Foodways," state education staffers have worked with staff from the state's historical museum in Topeka. Starting this fall, docents at the brand-new museum will be leading special tours and telling school children about the nutritional habits of Kansans in earlier historical periods.

In addition, there will be an outreach program for schools at too great a distance to undertake Topeka field trips. The outreach program will consist of a slide/tape presentation entitled "Enough to Eat: Kansas in the 1860's." It will include a packet of teaching materials focusing on food and nutrition habits of Kansans during the Civil War and Reconstruction periods.

According to Katie Armitage, who has been the program specialist for the project under the direction of Jim Powers, head of the museum's educational division, this period was chosen for several reasons.

For one thing, it was an important decade in the history of this food-producing state. "the period from 1860 to 1870 saw the beginnings of dietary change," she explains. "Settlers--mostly from Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and Missouri--brought food-ways based on a pork-and-corn diet."

The end of this period also marked the beginnings of the Kansas beef industry. "After the Civil War," says Armitage, "the Texas longhorn herds had built up, and surplus beef cattle were driven to market in Kansas.

"An entrepreneur, Joseph McCoy, got the idea of putting cattle on the new railroad and shipping them back East. For the first time, beef became inexpensive enough to be within reach of working people. Kansas played an important role in this time of dietary change."

Other historical highlights from the decade illustrate the direct relationship between diet and health, a message project coordinators want to get across to children.

As Armitage explains, researchers working on the Foodways project found that soldiers stationed in forts in the western part of Kansas immediately after the Civil War (around 1865-1867) had a problem with scurvy, due to the lack of fresh foods. Potatoes and onions were about the only transportable fresh foods they had.

Project will be used widely

The project has been planned to provide a state and regional focus for American history courses and nutrition classes at the junior high school level. It will also be used in Kansas history courses at all levels.

Project materials contrast diet and health in earlier periods with today. One contrast, for example, is the underconsumption of calories in the 1860's and the common overconsumption of calories today. Availability of foods is another contrast. Included in teachers' materials is a selection of recipes from the earlier time (hardtack, for example), to provide opportunities to discuss dietary contrasts.

The Kansas State Historical Society expects to have an easy job introducing these materials to schools. Kansas schools now make great use of other materials furnished by them, and an announcement will be circulated to all Kansas schools to introduce the new project.

Poster contest held each year

Another project is an annual nutrition poster contest for elementary school children that has been held each of the past 3 years. Last year's contest brought 6,500 entries on the theme, "Nutrition is Important...Ask Any Body!"

Students compete in three separate divisions--grades K-2, grades 3-4, and grades 5-6--and every contestant receives a certificate. Each district selects three divisional winners whose posters are then submitted for state judging.

The three first-place state winners are treated to an expense-paid trip to Topeka for themselves, their parents, and their teachers. They stay overnight and tour the Capitol, and each receives an engraved plaque, usually presented by the Governor.

The contest generates considerable excitement throughout the state. Copies of the three winning posters are printed and distributed to all elementary schools. This year's theme echoes the American School Food Services Association theme, "Champions of Nutrition."

Folders help get message across

Helping kids become "champions of nutrition" is also the goal of the third statewide effort, which enlists the support of parents, teachers, coaches, food service staff, nurses, and counselors.

In this project, state staffers have developed a series of folders, tailored to particular audiences, to supplement the "ABC's of Nutrition Education" curriculum of kindergarten through sixth grade.

The first of these folders is designed for use by high school coaches. It includes a sample letter to athletes' parents, stressing the importance of diet during training and competition. The folder also includes information on nutrient sources, pregame meals, fluid intake, nutrient intake, and weight gain and loss.