Panhandle Health District

                                                            8500 N. Atlas Road         Hayden, Idaho  83835

www.phd1.idaho.gov

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                      Date: August 10, 2011                          

Contact:                                                                        Released by: Lora Whalen, Director                            

Cynthia Taggart

Public Information Officer

(208) 415-5108

(208) 818-7288 (cell)

Charter School Scores Activity and Nutrition Grant

              Jeff Rigg discovered the benefits of good nutrition and physical activity as a competitive swimmer in Moscow. Now a health and physical education teacher at the Coeur d’Alene Charter Academy, Rigg has won a $2,500 grant to help his students reach the same discovery.

              The grant is through Fuel Up to Play 60, a physical activity and nutrition program sponsored by the National Football League, U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, Idaho Dairy Council and Action for Healthy Kids. The Panhandle Health District (PHD) coordinates the Action for Healthy Kids program in the five northern counties.

              Fuel Up to Play 60 is a national program that encourages kids to eat nutritious foods and get 60 minutes or more of physical activity each day. Rigg is the first teacher in the five northern counties to apply for a grant through the program. He plans to use the money to expand his school’s supply of sports equipment so there’s enough for all students and to purchase healthy snack foods for students to sample.

              “I’m hoping other schools will now see that it’s not that hard to get this money and that it’s worth the effort,” says Kristen Herron, PHD’s Action for Healthy Kids coordinator. “I know schools are busy, but if kids are healthy, they do better in school.”

              Rigg first heard about Fuel Up to Play 60 watching Sunday Night Football. At a conference, another teacher told Rigg that grant money through the program was not difficult to get. Rigg decided first to check out the program online. He liked what he saw.

              About 180 of the 300 students he sees each day signed up to use Fuel Up’s fitness and nutrition online tracker. They recorded their diet and exercise daily. Rigg kept track and talked to them about missing fruit or eating too much sugar. About 100 students stuck with the program and earned rewards from Rigg.

              This year, Herron encouraged Rigg to apply for funding from Fuel Up to Play 60. Coeur d’Alene Charter didn’t meet all the qualifications. It has no federal lunch program. But Herron worked with the Idaho Dairy Council, which liked Rigg’s plan and decided to grant him Fuel Up funding.

              Rigg plans to purchase equipment for lacrosse, hockey and flag football and hopes to replace soccer goals that were vandalized at the school several years ago.

“$2,500 is awesome,” says Rigg, who also coached competitive swimmers. “Activity has always been a part of my life. So many good things come from it. It has a huge impact on the kids I teach. When they’re active, they’re healthier and happier and better students.”

Herron offers periodic trainings at PHD on how Fuel Up to Play 60 works, but she’s also available by phone and e-mail and is happy to visit teachers at their school. For more information on Fuel Up to Play 60, contact Herron at 415-5140 or kherron@phd1.idaho.gov.