GWP Family Enhancement Project

What is the GWP Family Enhancement Project (FEP)?

Generation With Promise (GWP) expands its reach beyond the school classroom to the adults who play an active role in food choices made by their children. The FEP allows for parents/guardians to learn about healthier nutrition "Side by Side"  in the kitchen, through cooking demonstrations and grocery store tours.
 

Who is involved?
In an after-school setting, GWP uses the Side by Side: Operation Frontline Nutrition Education Curriculum.  GWP facilitators along with a chef from Gleaners Community Food Bank of Southeast Michigan, and a nutrition educator from Michigan State University Extension conduct the classes. Two after-school program facilitators from Imagination Sports also contribute by working with younger siblings of students in the program. Classes are held at the 16 GWP participating schools.  

How does it work?
classes, educational field trips to local grocery stores are scheduled to empower and educate families about making healthy food choices.Side by Side consists of four lesson plans that are presented in two-hour classes. The after-school classes meet once a week. Each class provides nutrition education and a cooking demonstration based on a sample recipe. At the end of each session the child and parent/guardian receive a bag of groceries with the necessary food items to recreate the sample recipe at home. In addition to the Side by Side

Take-home kits : Each parent participant will get a cart on wheels filled with nutrition information, including activity kits that can be shared at home with the family.

Nutrition education for younger siblings : Materials are being gathered and developed for the K-5 siblings of the Side by Side participants, so that while their sibling and parent/caregiver are in class, they, too, can learn about choosing healthy foods.

Display boards : Each Generation With Promise school is receiving a display board for its hallway. Parents in the program are encouraged to work with school personnel to develop and display nutrition education messages for the display board, so that many can contribute and the messages can be changed on regular basis. These display boards are being positioned in prominent places within the school buildings and all material presented will be at the appropriate reading level.

Curricula for schools : Several different curricula and educational resources are being used as enhancements to the Side by Side curricula. These include Fit Bits, Re-Charge, Fuel, Media Smart Youth, and Planet Health. These resources, purchased by the project for the schools, can be kept for use for years beyond the life of the project.
 

This project has been partially funded with Federal funds from USDA's Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program - Nutrition Education program by way of the Michigan Nutrition Network at Michigan State University Extension in partnership with the Michigan Fitness Foundation.  This material is based upon work supported in part by the Michigan Department of Human Services, under contract number ADMIN-09-99010.  Any opinions, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the view of Michigan State University or the Michigan Department of Human Services.

The Michigan Food Assistance Program provides nutrition assistance to people with low income. It can help you buy nutritious foods for a better diet. To find out more, call the Michigan Food Assistance Program (Food Stamp Helpline) at
1-800-481-4989.

In accordance with Federal law and U.S. Department of Agriculture's policy, this institution is prohibited from discriminating on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, age, religion, political beliefs or disability.  To file a complaint of discrimination, write USDA, Director, Office of Civil Rights, 1400 Independence Avenue, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20250-9410 or call (800)795-3272 (voice) or (202)720-6382 (TTY). USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.