Young children today have such nimble fingers that they can easily spin a dial on a TV or DVD player.  But they’re less able to run, jump, tumble, and balance than children were a few decades ago.  While their “fine motor skills” are developing in a healthy way, their “gross motor skills” are not.  

At the same time, child obesity is on the rise, with one out of every five children ages 2 – 5 either overweight or at risk of becoming overweight. 

FIRST 5 Mendocino is meeting these Nutrition & Fitness challenges through:

• Grants:  In 2006, nearly $130,000 was awarded to 27 local organizations and child care providers.  Click here for a list of Nutrition & Fitness grants.

• SPARK (Sports, Play and Active Recreation for Kids): is an innovative physical activity program that has been honored as an "Exemplary Program" by the U.S. Department of Education. SPARK is based on years of research, and it's also lots of fun for both children and adults. Since Fall 2006, we've trained more than 200 local child care providers in SPARK.

• Nutrition Workshops:  Since Spring 2007, we’ve held fun, personalized, interactive workshops on nutrition and fitness for Head Start parents in the Ukiah area.  One series of four workshops was for Latino parents; one was for Native American parents; and one was for other parents.  Topics included “Subtracting the Sugar” and “Healthy Shopping on a Budget.” 

• Hunger Hurts:  FIRST 5 is working with the University of California Cooperative Extension to create a program to end child hunger in our county.  Modeled on successful efforts in other communities, the program will help make sure Mendocino County children have affordable and nutritious food.

NUTRITION & FITNESS PARTNERS:  Consolidated Tribal Health Project, Mendocino County Health and Human Services Agency (Public Health Branch), Mendocino County Office of Education, North Coast Opportunities (Head Star)t, Pinoleville Head Start, and Ukiah Unified School District.  Funding comes from FIRST 5 Mendocino and North Coast Nutrition and Fitness Collaborative, and the State of California.