Creative approaches to nutrition education are provided to families and communities throughout the Chickasaw Nation by modeling and teaching positive lifestyle habits. Through a variety of methods and resources to accommodate all age groups, the Impa’ Kilimpi’ team regularly engages with the community through Eagle Adventure, Get Fresh!, Community Gardens, Body Adventure and Champion Nutrition.
Programs
Get Fresh!
Learn healthy ways to prepare delicious meals and snacks through live or virtual cooking demonstrations and other educational tools. Get Fresh! provides nutrition education through interactive cooking classes, food demonstrations, youth camps and health fairs.
Find recipes, videos and more at: GetFreshCooking.com
Find cooking classes at: GetFreshCooking.com/Events
Eagle Adventure
This unique and interactive program combines First American storytelling, classroom lessons, hands-on activities and food experiences to help children (grades one through three) find joy in being active and enjoying a variety of fruits and vegetables. Eagle Adventure teaches the importance of developing health habits early in life, which can help prevent Type 2 diabetes.
Find education materials at: GetFreshCooking.com/EagleAdventure
Community Gardens
Impa’ Kilimpi’ oversees three on-site community gardens. These gardens implement food sovereignty by demonstrating an assortment of gardening methods, such as using recycled materials for planting, composting and indoor gardening with hydroponics among others. A variety of herbs, fruits and vegetables are distributed to eligible participants and used in Get Fresh! cooking demonstrations.
Body Adventure
This Chickasaw culture-infused health education program is based on the children’s book “Brave Little Anoli” and teaches students (grades four and five) about the power of making healthy choices using interactive lessons about fruits, vegetables, water and physical activity. Body Adventure also features a life-size, walk-through exhibit allowing children to learn about nutrition and digestion as they walk through 10 organs of the body and engage with animated videos and graphics.
Champion Nutrition
A sports nutrition curriculum developed by a dietitian to enhance an athlete’s performance and overall health. This virtual curriculum is a series of five videos geared toward high school athletes with an optional bonus video for sports-specific nutrition education. Additional benefits include access to a dietitian for personalized guidance and sports enhancement tools for athletes and coaches.
Farm to School Program
Empowers children and their families to make informed food choices while strengthening the local economy and contributing to build vibrant communities. The Chickasaw Nation Farm to School Program focuses on educating students on the importance of eating healthy and learning the process of how food is grown. The farm to school team partners with Chickasaw Nation Head Starts and the Early Childhood Program to provide monthly classroom lessons focused on introducing students to how produce grows and exposing them to fresh fruits and vegetables. The agriculture-based lessons and learning activities have been successful as students are trying new foods and are excited to learn where their food comes from and how it is grown.
The farm to school team also works with each Chickasaw Nation Head Start and Early Childhood Center to provide fresh and locally grown produce for students throughout the month. Students are introduced to new produce each month through an integrated approach of classroom lessons, meals in cafeteria and reinforcement tools for family involvement.