‌ ¡ACOMPÁÑENOS EN KINGSTON EATS!

What Is It?

‌‌ ¿QUÉ ES?

On the Creating Healthy Schools and Communities (CHSC) team we love food, including veggies and fruits. It’s as simple as that! We also love the fact that we live in an area where so much food is grown. To celebrate our local abundance, we’re excited to bring back our city-wide campaign called Kingston Eats to celebrate a Harvest of the Month. We’re asking businesses, organizations, schools, and folks across Kingston to participate, hopefully including you!

• January- Cabbage
• February- Beets
• March– Potatoes
• April–  Beans & Early Onions
• May– Asparagus
• June– Salad Greens & Berries
• July– Summer Squash & Stone Fruit
• August– Tomatoes & Melon
• September– Peppers & Grapes
• October– Cooking Greens & Apples
• November– Carrots & Pears
• December– Winter Squash

**Check out our 2024 Kingston Eats Impact Report to read more about our activities and successes!**

‌‌En el equipo de ‌Creación de Escuelas y Comunidades Saludables (CHSC) nos encanta la comida, incluidas las verduras y las frutas. ¡Así de simple! Además, nos encanta vivir en una zona donde se cultiva tanta comida. Para celebrar nuestra abundancia local, nos complace presentar, una vez más, la campaña Kingston Eats en toda la ciudad, para celebrar una Cosecha del Mes. Estamos invitando a empresas, organizaciones, escuelas y personas de todo Kingston a participar, ¡y esperamos que usted también nos acompañe!

La campaña de este año comenzará en marzo de 2024 para coincidir con el Mes Nacional de la Nutrición. Las verduras y frutas de cada mes serán las siguientes:

• Enero- repollo
• Febrero- remolacha
• Marzo: papa
• Abril: frijoles y cebollas tempranas
• Mayo: espárragos
• Junio: verduras para ensalada y bayas
• Julio: calabaza de verano y fruta con hueso
• Agosto: tomates y melones
• Septiembre: chiles y uvas
• Octubre: hojas verdes y manzanas
• Noviembre: zanahorias y peras
• Diciembre: calabaza de invierno

How To Participate

CÓMO PARTICIPAR

Check out the variety of ways for you to participate below, whether you want to join us from your home kitchen or you want your business/community organization to be a participating location.

A continuación, puede consultar las formas para participar, ya sea desde la cocina de su casa o como participante con un puesto de exhibición para su empresa u organización de la comunidad.

I am a Community Member

‌Soy miembro de la comunidad

The good news here is that all you have to do is eat! Check back soon for an update list of participating locations to find a way that works best for your schedule and taste buds. Also, check out our newly launched activity, the Kingston Eats Passport! Get your digital “stamp” by scanning the QR code at participating locations and be entered in to win a monthly raffle prize!

¡La buena noticia es que lo único que tiene que hacer es comer! Consulte a continuación la lista de puestos de exhibición participantes para encontrar el que mejor se adapte a su disponibilidad horaria y paladar. Además, consulte nuestra actividad recientemente lanzada, Kingston Eats Passport. ¡Obtenga su “sello” digital escaneando el código QR en las ubicaciones participantes y participe para ganar un premio de rifa mensual!

Thank you so much to our donations partners!

‌‌ ¡Muchas gracias a nuestros colaboradores por sus donaciones!

We are a Business or Community Organization

Somos una organización empresarial o comunitaria

We are always eager to welcome more participating partners! It’s easy, just check out our suggested ways to participate below, or come up with a way that works best for you. Send us an email at kkessler@kingston-ny.gov to let us know how you plan to be involved and we’ll be happy to add you to our list of participating locations.

¡Siempre nos entusiasma recibir más socios participantes! Es fácil, simplemente consulte las formas de participar que le sugerimos a continuación o vea la forma que mejor se adapte a sus necesidades. Envíe un correo electrónico a kkessler@kingston-ny.gov para informarnos cómo planea participar y estaremos encantados de agregarlo a nuestra lista de puestos de exhibición participantes.

Menu of Participation

Click on the images below to see suggested ways to participate.

Everyone- Join Us Online!

Everyone can join the conversation online! Share how you enjoy the veggie of the month, either from your home and business/organization’s kitchen, using the hashtag #KingstonEatsFresh.

¡Todos pueden unirse a las charlas en línea! Comparta cómo disfruta la verdura del mes, ya sea desde la cocina de su casa o desde su empresa u organización utilizando el hashtag ‌#KingstonEatsFresh‌.

To Learn More, Contact:

Emily Flynn

eflynn@kingston-ny.gov

Funding for this program was made possible by the State of New York. The views expressed in written program materials or publications and by speakers and moderators do not necessarily reflect the official policies of the State.

La financiación de este programa fue posible gracias al estado de Nueva York. Las opiniones que figuran en los materiales escritos del programa o en las publicaciones, así como lo expresado por los oradores y moderadores no reflejan, necesariamente, las políticas oficiales del Estado.

By: Kristin Kessler, RDN, CDN, CYT, Project Manager, Department of Health and Wellness, City of Kingston

Creating Healthy Schools and Communities Program

Creating Healthy Schools and Communities (CHSC), a New York State Department of Health-funded project through the City of Kingston, is thrilled to share an update on activities and successes after wrapping year two and entering into year 3 of the five-year grant. With a goal to make healthy choices easy choices in Kingston, CHSC does this by supporting policy, system, and environmental changes that increase access to nutritious food and physical activity in our schools, community, and early care centers.

Two years in, and we’ve developed meaningful, wonderful partnerships with organizations and individuals across our community. To date we’ve worked with six community nutrition partners, four elementary schools, 15 daycares and early care centers, and on six pedestrian or cyclists support projects. 

A few of our project highlights include: 

• 1 Pedestrian Bicycle Master Plan Policy Created
• 3 KCSD School-Based Wellness Committees Formed
• 5 Community Nutrition Policies Created
• 5 Water Fill Stations Installed
• 162 People Trained in Nutrition and Physical Activity
• 1554 Kids Reached

We’ve also hosted a culinary nutrition training through The Teaching Kitchen for our community nutrition partners, and were featured in a Hudson Valley 1 article about the many new wellness initiatives we’ve launched through this state-funded program. Check out our Overview of CHSC Years 1-2 to read more!

Click on the timeline below to see a brief, yet comprehensive overview of our activities over the past few years:

Two of the projects we’re particularly proud of and excited to share include the designing of the two new greenspaces at the Broadway and Prince intersection, and the Spinach Fest hosted at John F. Kennedy Elementary School in collaboration with the Rondout Valley Growers Association.

Spinach Fest at John F. Kennedy Elementary School

During the 2022-2023 school year, three schools received training, technical assistance, and resources to increase access to healthy food outside the school meal program. Building on a successful pilot year, the Kingston City School District food service expanded the Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program to two more schools with advocacy and coordination from building wellness committees. The Rondout Valley Growers Association, a local farm coalition, provided locally grown spinach for the first annual “spinach fest” after school event at John F. Kennedy Elementary School that celebrated May’s vegetable of the month with various spinach tastings, gardening, face painting, and more!

Check out our Community Collaboration Offers Fresh Produce & Kids Eat It Up! success story to learn more about this fun and nutritious event!

Designing Two Greenspaces at the Broadway and Prince Intersection

In 2022, the City of Kingston, NY, hired KaN Landscape Design to develop a community-driven design of two new greenspaces along the Kingston Greenline (a network of trails and complete streets) to support and encourage walking and bicycling. The outreach feedback was the most diverse of recent City projects, and resulted in a beautiful design that the City will be implementing Phase 1 of construction on in either Fall 2023 or Spring 2024.

Check out our Planning an Everyday Destination for the Local Community success story to learn more about this fun and project!

Looking Ahead

With all of these exciting events, we can’t wait to see what Years 3, 4 and 5 will bring from the Creating Healthy Schools and Communities program. We already have plans to expand the number of schools, daycares and early care centers, and community nutrition centers that we work with. We are launching a city-wide veggie of the month campaign this September, are looking to install bike racks across the city to make riding your bike to your destination easier by providing a safe place to put it, will be creating a plan to create wayfinding signs for the Greenline that helps to direct you, and many more fun, meaningful, and impactful activities.

If you are interested in learning more, contact: 

Kristin Kessler, RDN, CDN, CYT

kkessler@kingston-ny.gov 

845-334-3917

By: Tracy Snyder, Program Manager for Physical Activity in Early Care and Education, Family of Woodstock

As a Program Manager for Nutrition and Physical Activity in Early Care and Education (ECE) at Family of Woodstock, crossing the midline is something I always look for. A child will not be able to do the simplest of tasks if not given the opportunity to cross the midline on a daily basis. 

So let us talk more about what the midline is, and how to support children doing so in their development.

The Midline. What Is It Exactly?

The midline is an imaginary line drawn from the head to the feet that separates the left and right halves of the body. Crossing this midline means that a body part (i.e., hand or foot) is able to spontaneously move over to the other side of the body.

The brain is divided into two sides, called the left and right hemispheres. There is a mass of tissue between the two, called the corpus callosum.  It contains nerve fibers that allow the two hemispheres to communicate with each other in order to coordinate learning and movement. A lack of midline crossing may indicate that the left and right sides of the brain are not communicating well across the corpus callosum.

The Midline and Child Development

Typically, children begin crossing the midline when they start reaching for toys at age 4-6 months. This skill continues to develop throughout childhood and is usually mastered at around age 8 or 9.

Bilateral movements (when both limbs are used in unison to contract the muscles, which creates force, and subsequently moves a given load) and interaction with the environment (such as caretakers playing with the child; objects being available to grasp) are important factors in trunk rotation. If a child avoids trunk rotation and/or moves the trunk stiffly as a unit, this may affect the child’s ability to freely cross the midline.

Some children may struggle to easily cross the midline. When a child shows trepidation in reaching, stepping, or looking across their center, this is known as midline crossing inhibition. This delay can be seen when a child hesitates or is clumsy when doing gross motor activities which require the arm or leg to cross over. A child who is grappling with crossing the midline will also struggle to get dressed, write, or cut with scissors.

If children have difficulty crossing the midline you may notice that they:

• Have delays in crawling
• Switch hands when working on fine motor skills such as writing or cutting
• Rotate or turn their entire body to retrieve objects on the other side of them
• Skip or do jumping jacks in an uncoordinated manner

How Crossing the Midline is Important To Growth

Reading and writing requires you to be able to smoothly and without effort cross the midline, as does completing math worksheets and navigating the recess field.  Related to being unable to easily cross the midline, children who struggle with ADHD often do not have a dominant hand, something called mixed dominance. This can also cause problems with coordination, reading, math, and attention. Another sign for possible midline crossing challenges and ADHD, studies have also shown that children diagnosed with ADHD tend to prefer sports such as soccer, track and field, and football as crossing the midline is not required for these activities.

In addition, hand dominance and bilateral integration skills are also needed to cut and to dress oneself.  Cognition develops because both sides of the brain are engaged and must work together during learning tasks, (left to right visual scanning across pages in a book, moving a toy to a basket, and noticing details on a page in their classwork).  It also benefits social-emotional development so children build self esteem while participating in activities (sports, school activities, gym class games).  Frustration and anxiety are reduced at school when children are able to participate in these activities.

Parents who notice that their children are experiencing developmental delays and show signs of mixed dominance should be on the lookout for early symptoms of other challenges.  By correctly identifying these complications, parents can quickly get the resources they need to support their child’s development.

So how do you encourage an infant or toddler to cross the midline?

• Clap hands at midline
• Move a toy across the baby’s line of vision so they have to track the object.
• Tummy time is so important!  Place toys in front of baby to encourage reaching.
• Gently take baby’s arms and hug them across their chest.
• You can have toddlers lie on their back and reach for their opposite foot.
• Give them a toy in one hand and encourage them to grab it with the other.
• To work on midline crossing skills with preschool and older children, try throwing, catching, and kicking objects.
• Blow bubbles and pop them!  Dance!
• Yoga is an excellent way to get your kids crossing over.

Interested in Learning More?

Creating Healthy Schools and Communities (CHSC), is a program of the City of Kingston’s Department of Health and Wellness that supports policy, system, and environmental changes to make it easier for everyone in Kingston to make healthy choices. The goals of CHSC are to improve food and nutrition guidelines in food service venues, support the planning to increase safe and accessible physical activity, and improve policies and practices to support physical activity and improved nutrition in schools and early care and education centers.

If you are an Early Care and Education Center provider that would like to learn more about this fantastic program, contact: 

Tracy Snyder, Program Manager for Nutrition and Physical Activity in ECE

tsnyder@familyofwoodstockinc.org

(845) 331-7080 ext. 157