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$55,000 grant to Alcorn State University 4-H Youth
Development Program trains Mississippi 4-H’ers how to make healthy
living a greater part of their everyday lives beginning with
budgeting, grocery shopping and meal planning
UnitedHealthcare and the 4-H Youth Development Program at Alcorn State
University are expanding their partnership to help fight hunger and food
insecurity by promoting budgeting and nutrition education in underserved
communities with the “4-H Food Smart Families” program.
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Representative from Alcorn State University Ralph Arrington; Dr. Jonathan Sutton, Principal, Wilkins Elementary School; Michelle King, Chief Academic Officer of Jackson Public Schools; Jocelyn Chisholm Carter, CEO, UnitedHealthcare Community Plan of Mississippi; 4-H youth leaders Kristen Brown and Christina Washington; and Youth Specialist at Alcorn State University Extension Program Manola Erby kick-off the “4-H Food Smart Families” at Wilkins Elementary School in Jackson, Miss. UnitedHealthcare presented a $55,000 grant to Alcorn State University, which administers 4-H programs throughout the state (Photo: Amanda Patterson).
UnitedHealthcare has donated $55,000 to Alcorn State University
Extension, which administers 4-H programs throughout the state, to
support the 4-H Food Smart Families program. The program empowers
families with nutrition education, and cooking and food-budgeting skills
to bring more affordable, nutritious foods into their households, and
connects families with nutrition assistance through SNAP benefits.
The program was featured at Wilkins Elementary School in Jackson, where
more than 200 4th and 5th graders joined 4-H’ers,
community leaders and UnitedHealthcare mascot Dr. Health E. Hound in
training sessions to learn more about food – how to buy it, use it and
cook it, and make choices that enhance their health and well-being. 4-H
youth participated in the 4-H Food Smart Shopping Experience, during
which they were asked to shop and make choices based on budget,
nutrition, price per unit and meal preparation.
“4-H and UnitedHealthcare are sharing best practices for healthy eating
and smart budgeting choices that will help support families throughout
our community,” said Manola Erby, Alcorn State University 4-H Youth
Development Specialist. “Through the 4-H Food Smart Families program, we
are helping young people establish sustainable and healthy habits for
their families.”
Throughout Mississippi, the 4-H Food Smart Families program will engage
4-H teen leaders to serve as ambassadors and mentors to teach youth,
peers, families and communities how to prepare healthy meals on a budget.
4-H Food Smart Families is expected to engage nearly 6,000
Mississippians, including more than 1,600 kids and 4,200 of their family
members that are eligible for or receiving SNAP (food stamps) benefits.
Goals include educating youth on the importance of eating more
vegetables and fruit; drinking more water; choosing healthier snacks;
eating breakfast; teaching their families how to buy and prepare
healthier, affordable foods on a budget; and practicing food-safety
principles for food preparation and preservation.
“UnitedHealthcare is grateful for the opportunity to continue supporting
4-H and the 4-H Food Smart Families program. We look forward to working
together to achieve the goals of this program by providing a sustainable
solution to childhood hunger,” said Jocelyn Chisholm Carter, CEO,
UnitedHealthcare Community Plan of Mississippi.
UnitedHealthcare employees will help organize and host many of the 4-H
Food Smart Families events and help implement projects that lead to
positive, sustainable change at the community and individual level.
UnitedHealthcare’s $55,000 grant is part of a $1 million program funded
by UnitedHealthcare in 2015 to support youth healthy-living programs. In
addition to Mississippi, other state 4-H programs receiving grants
include Arizona, Florida, Louisiana, Nebraska, Tennessee, New York and
Wisconsin. This partnership will provide 4-H’ers skills and resources to
promote healthy choices to families in the communities that need it most.
UnitedHealthcare serves more than 580,000 people in Mississippi with a
network of 101 hospitals and nearly 9,000 physicians and other care
providers statewide.
About 4-H
4-H is a community of six million young people across America learning
leadership, citizenship, and life skills. National 4-H Council is the
private sector, non-profit partner of 4-H National Headquarters at the
National Institute for Food and Agriculture (NIFA) within USDA. The 4-H
programs are implemented by the 111 land-grant universities and the
Cooperative Extension System through their 3,100 local Extension offices
across the country. Learn more about 4-H at www.4-h.org.
About UnitedHealthcare
UnitedHealthcare is dedicated to helping people nationwide live
healthier lives by simplifying the health care experience, meeting
consumer health and wellness needs, and sustaining trusted relationships
with care providers. The company offers the full spectrum of health
benefit programs for individuals, employers, military service members,
retirees and their families, and Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries,
and contracts directly with more than 1 million physicians and care
professionals, and 6,000 hospitals and other care facilities nationwide.
UnitedHealthcare is one of the businesses of UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:
UNH), a diversified Fortune 50 health and well-being company. For more
information, visit UnitedHealthcare at www.uhc.com
or follow @myUHC on Twitter.
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