Last month, I had the honor of attending the Fuel Up To Play 60 Student Ambassador Summit in Atlanta, GA. If you’re not familiar with the Fuel Up To Play 60 program, it is a nationwide program launched by the National Dairy Council and the NFL, in collaboration with the USDA to help today’s youth lead healthier lives.
The student ambassador Summit was well-attended; hundreds of students, program advisors, dairy farmers and several NFL players were on hand each day. The energy at the summit was contagious and their passion was very inspiring. Seeing young people determined to make their schools healthier and watching them work together to develop actions plans was very exciting. Over 40 students received $1,000 grants that were made possible by GENYOUth partners, Land O’Lakes, UnitedHealthcare and Quaker.
As a chosen mentor for one of the student sessions, I listened to one student explain that he wanted to provide a paved area where they would have somewhere to play outside during recess. His school did not have the money to create such a space for their students. This young man shared his heartfelt situation with his peers and he ended up being one of the $1,000 grant recipients. There were many students from a variety of backgrounds, with their own goals and initiatives. From raising awareness of healthy cafeteria options, to helping reducing food waste, these students and their advisors were very passionate about their schools, their health and their community.
Coming out of this wonderful Summit, I can’t help but express my desire to do more in our schools and help spread the word that this program exists. We certainly hope to become a larger part of this program in the future and look forward to providing you with more information on that in the coming months. If you want to learn more, visit the Fuel Up to Play 60 website.
