Thirty-six 4-H clubs from 19 counties were recognized for demonstrating their commitment to learning about and practicing healthful habits by being designated as a Healthy North Dakota 4-H Club for 2016-17.

The 4-H clubs, with a total of 601 members, earned the special recognition for making “Eat Smart. Play Hard.” lessons part of their club meetings during the past year. Thirteen clubs also earned extra recognition for completing the Family Mealtime Challenge.

“Eat Smart. Play Hard. Together” is a statewide campaign that emphasizes the importance of making healthful food choices, getting regular exercise and families eating together. This was the 10th year some clubs were named a Healthy North Dakota 4-H Club. This year, each club member received a certificate of recognition and a small prize.

The clubs recognized this year are by county, number of members and number of years they have received the Healthy North Dakota 4-H Club recognition, and whether they completed the Family Mealtime Challenge. The challenge encouraged families to set a goal for weekly family meals. The 4-H’ers tracked the number of family meals they ate for a month.

• Barnes - Valley Friends, 21 members, eight years, completed Family Mealtime Challenge
• Burleigh - Caring Hands, eight members, six years; Dynamite Kids, 21 members, four years; McKenzie Magnums, 16 members, seven years; North Stars, 11 members, five years; Silver Colts, 11 members, eight years, completed Family Mealtime Challenge
• Cass - Absaraka Crows, nine members, three years; Cass County Crusaders, 30 members, three years, completed Family Mealtime Challenge; Clover Friends, 29 members, four years, completed Family Mealtime Challenge; Flickertails, 15 members, two years, completed Family Mealtime Challenge; Harwood Helpers, 15 members, six years, completed Family Mealtime Challenge; Rainbow Kids, 15 members, nine years; Uniters, five members, nine years; Valley Adventures, 18 members, nine years; Wheatland Pioneers, 36 members, 10 years
• Divide - Flickertails, 14 members, 10 years
• Grand Forks - K-KOTS, 17 members, three years; Eagles, 23 members, seven years; Sharing Shamrocks, seven members, first year
• Grant - Roughriders, eight members, first year, completed Family Mealtime Challenge
• Kidder - Kidder County Creative Kids, 14 members, first year, completed Family Mealtime Challenge
• LaMoure - LaMoure Cloverleafs, 30 members, four years
• Logan - Cloverbuds, 19 members, three years
• McHenry - Balfour RoughRiders, 16 members, three years
• McLean - Washburn Cowboys, eight members, three years
• Mercer - Dakota Pride, 10 members, first year, completed Family Mealtime Challenge; Kountry Kids, 10 members, first year, completed Family Mealtime Challenge
• Morton - Missouri Valley Bunch, 23 members, 10 years
• Ransom - Aliceton, 17 members, six years, completed Family Mealtime Challenge; Heart & Soul, 36 members, first year; Tri-County Ag, 22 members, four years
• Richland - Helping Hands, seven members, first year, completed Family Mealtime Challenge
• Sargent - Forman Friends, 17 members, two years
• Sheridan - Northern Lights, 17 members, first year
• Stark - West River 4-H Club, 19 members, first year, completed Family Mealtime Challenge
• Ward - Prairie Ryders, seven members, two years

“We are pleased to see the creative approaches and the variety of health-related activities that clubs do, as well as the service they provide in their communities,” says Julie Garden-Robinson, North Dakota State University Extension Service food and nutrition specialist and Healthy North Dakota 4-H Clubs program coordinator.

For example, club members helped in community gardens, prepared food for events in their communities, and/or picked up trash along community trails. Another club created get-well cards for children in the hospital. Some clubs created displays to showcase their club activities at the county or State Fair level.

“These clubs are making healthy choices the easy choice, which is a goal in nutrition,” Garden-Robinson adds. “Their activities not only impact their clubs, but also their families and their communities.”

Clubs are required to incorporate at least one nutrition or fitness activity into a minimum of six regular meetings during the year to be named a Healthy North Dakota 4-H Club.

4-H clubs interested in participating in the 2017-18 North Dakota Healthy 4-H Clubs program should contact their county office of the NDSU Extension Service or visit this website: http://tinyurl.com/healthy4-Hclubs.

NDSU Agriculture Communication - Sept. 15, 2017