VHS Nutrition/Wellness Class Receives Grant

mrandolphadvance@gmail.com

The Vidalia High School (VHS) Food Nutrition and Wellness Class has been awarded a $4,990 grant from Rural Health Works, Inc./Community Health Works in Macon. Consumer Science Instructor Amanda Mosely has been teaching the subject for three years and said that the money received in this grant will be used to create a classroom environment that provides hands-on experiences and individualized knowledge about each student’s overall health and fitness. “Upon completion of my first year in this position, I realized that a large number of high school students do not put much thought into what they eat, or prioritize their physical fitness,” she explained. “For most of my students, food choice is heavily reliant on convenience and price. This grant will enhance my curriculum and students’ knowledge of their overall wellness and physical fitness.”

Mosely previously applied for two mini-grants in November with the help of Ursula Spence, Director of Programs for the Rural Health Works, Inc./Community Health Works. She received the first of these mini-grants, which totaled $450, over the summer and used the funding for the class garden. Mosely says that Spence reached out to her later in the summer to let her know her second grant for $4,990 had been approved. This grant is being used to purchase equipment and products geared to promote healthy nutrition and exercise taught in two of the subject’s classes.

Each semester, 35 students participate in each of the 2 classes within the subject area, which focus on exercise and nutrition through various eras of life.