Lafayette Parish schools will be revamping their health and wellness programs thanks to a federal grant. The school system will receive over $3,000 over the next five years. 

In June, LPSS was contacted by the Federal Government and given a five year grant improve wellness within the school system. 

Celeste Finney, the nutrition coordinator, says this grant will help schools build upon their existing programs. 

“Years ago, the CDC actually made a call for action for local school districts to change the way they were doing things- to implement a wellness policy so that on a local level we could really impact to build environment for our students,” says Finney. 

Approximately one in every three children in Louisiana are considered to be obese or overweight and 33 percent of adult also fall into that category. These numbers are some of the highest in the country. The hope is that this grant can help Lafayette schools teach children from an early age the importance of overall health. 

Finney says, “It’s not just obesity. Obesity comes along with cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and just a decreased quality-of-life have anyway to obesity is part of the picture so really the more that we can do on a local level. Programs like this are the answer to how do we actually make a change to where families can be healthier.”

The school systems wellness policy includes healthy snacks in schools, nutrition education and tobacco-free living. Over the next five years, those programs along with others will see more technology and education for a healthier life style. 

Joe Craig with LPSS says, “We really want our kids to develop lifelong habits for wellness, and to grow up and not be so dependent on emergency or chronic medical care so that they can be effective citizens, productive citizens.”

“Kids are way more likely to stay physically active if they start at a young age,” says Finny. “They are also less likely to become obese as adults if they maintain a healthy weight as children. It all starts young, even before kindergarten so we want to do the best we can to help give all of our students a healthy start.”