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Nutrition and Physical Activity

Making healthy food choices and getting active are at the heart of the Poe Center’s Nutrition & Physical Activity programs.

Students learn about the five food groups using our gigantic magnetic food plate. The interactive nutrition kiosk demonstrates how to read a food label and the nutritional differences between food choices. Engaging activities make learning fun and memorable.

As a proud recipient of the SNAP-Ed grant, the Poe Center is able to provide intensive nutrition and physical activity programming to many low-income populations in North Carolina.
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  • Food Friends

    Schedule this program for: Preschool

    We need food from every food group every day. Preschoolers will learn when to eat and what to eat through age-appropriate songs, rhymes, and pretend play. With Healthy Harry’s help, children identify colorful fruits and veggies and use “Poe pretend-food” to plan and safely prepare a balanced meal. Poe encourages preschoolers to try at least “just one bite” of new foods.

    Program Length: 30 minutes
    Meets the following North Carolina Foundations for Early Learning and Development Health and Physical Development (HPD) Goals:

  • Fitness Is Fun

    Schedule this program for: Kindergarten1st Grade2nd Grade

    The emphasis is on fun as participants learn about the activity pyramid and why being active is so important. An interactive game teaches kids how to pack a tasty yet nutritious lunch.

    Program Length: 45 minutes
    Meets Essential Standards:

  • Healthy Habits

    Schedule this program for: Kindergarten1st Grade

    Are you ready for an adventure? Discover the importance of healthy habits, check out what foods belong on “MyPlate” and visit the Poe Cafeteria. Learn about the importance of physical activity and heart health during your expedition, too!

    Program Length: 45 minutes
    Meets Essential Standards:

  • PoeMANIA!

    Schedule this program for: Kindergarten1st Grade2nd Grade3rd Grade4th Grade5th Grade6th Grade7th Grade8th Grade9th Grade10th Grade11th Grade12th GradeAdults

    Are you ready to “come on down” to participate in a fun-filled game show? Join our wacky hosts for a nutrition and physical activity themed, interactive and educational program. This program is designed for all ages. Groups of up to 200 can participate and FAMILIES can compete TOGETHER to reach the “Million Dollar” question. Please Note: This program is designed for large groups consisting of both youth and adults.

    Ages: 5 and Up
    Program Length: 1 hour

  • Growing Healthy Kids

    Schedule this program for: 1st Grade2nd Grade

    Growing Healthy Kids is a research-based curriculum from Oregon State University. Students learn about gardening, health, and plant biology while creating a paper, garden mural to be displayed at your school. Growing Healthy Kids lessons are fun and include music, physical activity, and a snack each lesson. This program is easily adjustable to fit into your schedule and can be offered for special education classes or as an afterschool program. Program Goals Include:

    • Increase the students’ exposure to vegetables and fruits.
    • Increase the students’ consumption of vegetables and fruits and model healthy food and lifestyle choices.
    Program Length: 8-12 sessions, 60 minutes each

  • Fantastic Foods

    Schedule this program for: 2nd Grade3rd Grade

    Meet the Food Super Heroes! The Nutrient Super Six help familiarize students with what nutrients do for our body. Participants will also enjoy the interactive Poe “vending machine”, figuring out food labels, and understanding what the best choices are for “MyPlate".

    Program Length: 45 minutes
    Meets Essential Standards:

  • Play Hard, Stay Fit

    Schedule this program for: 2nd Grade3rd Grade

    Is “play” physical activity? You bet! This session will examine the questions of “What is exercise?” and “What does it mean to be healthy?” Participants experience the correlation between nutrition and physical activity. They will discover their personal fitness likes and dislikes and the risks associated with poor health behaviors while learning how physical activity benefits every aspect of their lives.

    Program Length: 45 minutes
    Meets Essential Standards:

  • Wholesome Routines

    Schedule this program for: 3rd Grade4th Grade5th Grade

    Wholesome Routines is a comprehensive nutrition and physical activity education series. This program consists of 6 lessons with an overall goal of promoting healthy eating and physical activity. Through classroom lessons, games, skits and activities, participating students will learn to be healthy and fit...in a fun way! Lessons include developing healthy habits, reviewing MyPlate and nutrients, importance of physical activity and good hydration, learning to read food labels, and how to maintain a healthy body. This is a three-year series, which starts with third grade students and continues with them through fifth grade.

    Program Length: 6 sessions, 45 to 60 minutes each

  • FITT for Life

    Schedule this program for: 4th Grade5th Grade

    You’ll feel great after experiencing this interactive program as we introduce the importance of regular physical activity. Participants will experience the benefits of exercise while exploring the benefits of a healthy lifestyle. This program introduces the different levels of exercise as well as the components of a good athlete. We encourage participants to make a lifelong commitment to their health.

    Program Length: 60 minutes
    Meets Essential Standards:

  • Food for Thought

    Schedule this program for: 4th Grade5th Grade

    Have your students ever asked… Why do we need food? What is “MyPlate”? What are the different food groups, and do I need to eat foods from all of them? How does media influence food choices? Are all body types the same? Is dieting healthy? If you said yes to any of these questions, don’t give it a second thought; sign up for this program today. The session will answer each of these questions and more.

    Program Length: 60 minutes
    Meets Essential Standards:

  • Media Mythbusters

    Schedule this program for: 6th Grade7th Grade8th Grade

    Media Mythbusters is a nutrition program that guides students through the harms of fad-diets and helps them understand how the media can influence food choices. Students will learn the signs of inaccurate versus accurate nutrition information, as well as food marketing tactics. By the end of this program, students will be able to analyze and decipher the media to understand its messages and have a greater knowledge of nutrition.

    Program Length: 60 minutes Program type: Virtual
    Meets Essential Standards:

  • Mission Nutrition

    Schedule this program for: 6th Grade7th Grade8th Grade

    Mission Nutrition is an interactive and conversational program that explores the challenge of balancing food and physical activity. Activities are designed to help participants discover the importance of food labels and the barriers to healthy eating and the risk associated with over- and under-eating. Participants are also helped to understand messages in the media targeting teens, and how they affect their food choices.

    Program Length: 60 minutes
    Meets Essential Standards:

  • Strong and Balanced (Online Only)

    Schedule this program for: 9th Grade10th Grade11th Grade12th GradeAdults

    This program is geared specifically for teens and young adults to provide tips for staying physically and emotionally balanced during stressful times...like quarantine.

    Program Length: 30 - 45 minutes

  • Wellness Works

    Schedule this program for: 9th Grade10th Grade11th Grade12th Grade

    Wellness Works builds on participants’ knowledge of basic nutrition and physical activity. This program uses USDA guidelines to demonstrate how to plan healthy meal patterns. Participants will examine healthy eating habits that enhance good nutrition, analyze food labels, learn about normal growth during puberty, identify media and peer pressures that result in unhealthy weight control, and chronic diseases that can occur due to lack of physical activity or unhealthy eating habits.

    Program Length: 60 minutes
    Meets Essential Standards:

  • Healthy POEtential

    Schedule this program for: Adults

    Is fast food a cheaper alternative to healthful eating? No!! Explore the evolution of serving sizes in America and learn how to feed your family healthfully and inexpensively. Healthy POEtential is an adult education program emphasizing the importance of good nutrition and physical activity. This one-hour interactive program covers nutrition and physical activity basics, the “MyPlate” food guide, decoding the Nutrition Facts label, how to get the most out of your food budget, and other related topics based on the group’s needs.

    Program Length: Single 60 minute session

  • Healthy POEtential Series

    Schedule this program for: Adults

    Healthy POEtential is four-session family education series which promotes healthy habits to adults and their families. This informative and interactive program covers:

    • Nutrition and physical activity basics.
    • In depth discussion around food groups, reading food labels and portion sizes.
    • How to get the most out of your food budget.
    • A virtual "Grocery Store Tour".
    Each 60 minute session involves taste testing a healthy snack, a short interactive lesson and a quick energizer!
    Program Length: Four 60 minute sessions