Oaklawn Elementary students crunch into locally grown apples to support Farm to School Month!

Get ready. Get Set. Crunch.  re:TH!NK Farm to School and Oaklawn Elementary joined students of all ages, from preschool to college, along with individuals across the Great Lakes Region states of Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, and Ohio in celebrating  National Farm to School Month and Food Day by participating in a very exciting event called the first annual “Great Lakes Great Apple Crunch”, on October 23^rd.

Just like “Earth Day”, Food Day is on it’s way to becoming a national holiday. Food Day is typically celebrated October 24^th with a message to inspire Americans to change their diets and food policies. October is also National Farm to School month and is the perfect time to introduce nutritious local foods in schools. The first annual Great Lakes Great Apple Crunch is a great way to celebrate Food Day and National Farm to School Month. This collective crunch encourages healthy eating and supports Farm to School and other local food purchasing initiatives throughout the region. 

 

Joined by Todd Hanson, the owner of Apple Blossom Orchard and Market, and Alice in Dairyland, the most recognizable spokesperson of Wisconsin agriculture, approximately 130 4^th and 5^th grade students bit into a locally grown apple after a countdown by the farmer. Todd spoke about his farm and the apples, while Alice discussed Wisconsin agriculture and why we celebrate Farm to School Month.  Everyone who participated in the event, including the food service director Peggy West, and Scott Johanknecht, thought the Honeycrisp apples were delicious. One student claimed, “this apple tastes better than my cookie”. Another student said, “this apple is a lot better than the usual snack apples I eat”. The students had a lot of fun with this event as they not only enjoyed the apples, but learned a lot about Wisconsin agriculture and how apples grow.

 

 

 

 

Why celebrate Food Day? America’s food system contributes to childhood obesity, diabetes, heart disease, other health related problems and promotes environmental degradation, unfair working conditions, and animal cruelty. With America’s resources, there’s no excuse for hunger, diet-related diseases, low wages for food and farm workers, or inhumane condition for farm animals.

 

Join the Movement! All of us are united by a vision of food that is healthy, affordable, and produced with care for the environment, farm animals, and the people who grow, harvest, and serve it. We envision a just food system for all and want to celebrate it when it works and help fix it when it’s broken.


 

 

For more information on Farm to School or the Great Lakes Great Apple Crunch click here.

Want to know more about Food Day? click here.

 

BWell2Excel: Using “Wellness Screen” to address high school students’ emotional wellness

High school can be a stressful, yet exciting time for many students. From homework, 8+ hours with peers and teachers, exams, and extracurricular activities, there are many opportunities for students to feel overwhelmed or stressed with having to juggle so many things, not to mention trying to figure out who they are as individuals! This fall, re:TH!NK and the Winnebago County Health Department are excited to support Samaritan Counseling Center in their implementation of the Connected Community Wellness Screen in Oshkosh West and Oshkosh North high schools. In collaboration with re:TH!NK’s Healthy Lifestyles committee, the Connected Community Wellness Screen is a free and voluntary resource for students who want to have a mental health “check-in” and is a great program to ensure mental well-being for students.

How does the Connected Community Wellness Screen work? 

Parental Consent & Sign-Up

The Wellness Screen is targeted toward ninth grade students but is available to all high school students through referral and parental and student consent. Parents at Oshkosh West and North schools received information about the Wellness Screen in their registration packets and can sign a permission slip to have their student screened. Throughout fall 2014, two counselors from Samaritan Counseling Center will be at Oshkosh North and West one day a week to screen students whose parents have signed them up.

The Day of the Screening

Students are called down to the screening room and go through a consent process with a counselor. The student learns about what the screening is and can decide whether or not they’d like to participate. If the student declines the screening, the student is sent back to their class and the parent will be notified that their student did not participate. If the student assents to the screening, they begin a short 10-minute computerized questionnaire that asks about vision, hearing, and dental problems, symptoms of depression and anxiety, suicidal thinking and behavior, attentional problems and disruptive behavior, and any use of drugs and alcohol. After the questionnaire, the students meet one-on-one with a counselor to go over their responses and any concerns the student may have. If the student does not show any signs of needing help, they meet briefly with a counselor to debrief. If the student does show signs of needing help, they will meet with a trained mental health professional in private to determine if further evaluation would be helpful. 

Follow-Up

A case manager of the screening will only contact parents if further evaluation is recommended for their student and parents can decide if they want to obtain additional services. All results of the screening are confidential and will not be stored with students’ academic records. 

Hannah Episcopo, a counselor from Samaritan Counseling, speaking about Wellness Screen and stress and coping skills during a freshman health class at Oshkosh West High School.

Feedback from Students

So far, we’ve screened eight students at Oshkosh West and six at Oshkosh North high schools, though we have many more to do. From the students I’ve seen at Oshkosh West, the overall response has been really positive. Since I’m an AmeriCorps member with re:TH!NK and the Winnebago County Health Department, and not a licensed counselor, my role in the screening process has been to make sure it all goes smoothly. I make sure the students know where to go when they’re called down to the screening room and walk them through the consent process and answer any questions. A few students didn’t know that their parents signed them up for the screening, but after learning more about it and asking questions, they all seemed eager to take it and interested in the results. All of the students seemed comfortable talking to the counselors and students who brought up any struggles they were having seemed relieved after “venting”. The two counselors who are at Oshkosh West and North have been really great with the students and they always seem to get the students laughing and comfortable. The counselors really try to get to know the students and let them know that there is help available if they want it. From my perspective, the Wellness Screen seems like a great opportunity for students to talk about what they’re going through and relieve some of the pressure they feel.

Why is Wellness Screen so important in Winnebago County?

In a perfect world, everyone could get yearly (or more frequently) mental health “check-ups”, just as we should for the rest of our bodies. If the approach to physical health included mental health, I believe that we would live in a much healthier and happier community. Unfortunately, there often seems to be a disconnect in addressing what goes on in our brains compared to the rest of our bodies and many people’s mental illnesses go unchecked. That’s why I believe the Wellness Screen is so important in our schools. Students, with parental permission, can access a free, voluntary, and confidential mental health check-up just to make sure things are going ok for them in their transition to high school and adulthood. Teens encounter so many stressors and pressures throughout their days, and having Wellness Screen as a check-in can be so beneficial.

Without checking in on our mental health, many individuals may experience mental illness without ever seeking out treatment. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, one in four adults, about 61.5 million Americans, experience mental illness in a given year. However, only one-third of those adults with a mental illness will seek professional help (NIH & NIMH). While there can be multiple reasons behind not seeking out mental health care, from financial inability, lack of access, stigma, or denial, 2/3 of people with a diagnosable mental illness are not receiving care. Can you imagine if 2/3 of people diagnosed with cancer did not seek out care? Or 2/3 of people with broken bones did not receive care? I think it’s time we start seeing mental health as important to our overall health just as we do with our physical health.

The Wellness Screen also addresses a very real risk in teen’s lives: suicide. The Wellness Screen can identify early indicators of risk of suicide and can provide intervention to teens going through tough emotional times. And unfortunately, we are all too familiar with the toll suicide has on our communities. According to the Burden of Suicide in Wisconsin Report published in 2014, there were 106 deaths by suicide between 2007-2011 in Winnebago County, a rate of about 14.5%.  Specifically for teens, suicide is the second leading cause of death for ages 15-24 in Wisconsin. Additionally, 90% of youth who died by suicide also suffered from a treatable mental illness. Our hope is that we can begin to support these teens who are dealing with a mental illness before they make a permanent life decision.

“No health without mental health” may be a catchy slogan, but it is so true. There are so many ways that our mental well-being affects our physical health and vice versa. If students are unable to deal with all the stress and pressure they have, it will begin to take a toll on their bodies. Our hope is that Wellness Screen will get students talking about their stresses and mental health struggles in order to get them on a path toward being healthy. By giving students a chance to “vent” and talk about their problems, we might be able to better address what their needs are. With Wellness Screen, we are one step closer toward being a community that believes that suicide is preventable and that overall health includes mental health.

For more information about the impact of stress and mental health issues on students' academic performance, see http://www.samaritan-counseling.com/pdf/Mental-Health-and-Academic-Achievement.pdf

Coming Soon to a Theater Near You: E-Cigarettes

"An epic battle between dirty cops and a drug dealing biker gang..." (IMDb)

Cymbeline, originally a Shakespeare play, is being adapted and updated for the big screen. Set in the 21st century United States, the movie provides lots of updates: modern clothes, vehicles, and everyday 21st century things... like e-cigarettes.

Milla Jovovich plays the character Queen and can be seen smoking an e-cigarette in the above scene as well as at other times throughout the film. The movie even includes the SmokeStik e-cigarette for sale in a convenience store scene right next to other common, household items.

The chief executive of SmokeStik International Inc., Bill Maragnos says, "I don't see a problem with glamorizing something that saves lives" in the Wall Street Journal Article. Comments like this are common when talking with e-cigarette creators, distributors, and advocates. Unfortunately, e-cigarettes are not that simple.

There is much more to the e-cigarette then what the industry is telling us (or trying to sell us). If e-cigarettes were a wonder product that saved lives would tobacco companies would be buying up e-cigarette manufactures? Would the FDA be planning to expand their tobacco regulation to include e-cigarettes? 

No. 

E-cigarettes are just new, shiny objects increasing the number of people who are addicted to nicotine. E-cigarettes are a drug delivery device.

E-cigarette labels, flavors, and comments from the manufacturers make it clear the e-cigarette industry is in the business of addiction and increasing those who are dependent on nicotine and in turn, their product. Most e-cigarette users although they might intended to quit, continue using traditional tobacco products. Using the e-cigarette where smoking is prohibited and using traditional tobacco during normal smoking/chewing times.

When movies promote the use of nicotine (no matter what the delivery device- a cigarette, chewing tobacco, e-cigarette, etc.) the behavior is, like Bill Maragnos said, glamorized. And not in a good way. Youth see movies with smoking or using e-cigarettes and that behavior doesn't seem as bad. When in reality the dangers are just switched, traded out as the harms shift.

Celebrity use of e-cigarettes, although we don't like to think they influence the way we think, play a huge role in our opinions of acceptable behavior. And e-cigarettes are definitely re-normalizing the use nicotine. Like Katherine Heigl on Late Night with David Letterman back in 2010 and more recently Julia Louis-Dreyfus at the Golden Globes.

E-cigarettes are re-normalizing what tobacco prevention has worked so hard to do. To teach youth that tobacco is dangerous, that nicotine is addictive. That no one is invincible to cancer and death. Not us. Not our favorite celebrities. Not even professional athletes. Curt Schilling, a Phillies Wall of Famer, said this about his battle with cancer, "I'll go to my grave believing [chewing] was why I got what I got...absolutely, no question in my mind about that."

Humans are not indestructible and e-cigarettes are not saving lives. Nicotine in any form is addictive and harmful to our health. Let's fight against this new industry trying to get away with Big Tobacco's old tricks. 

Cooking up Ratatouille for School Lunches, Farm to School Style!

re:TH!NK Farm to School and the food service staff from Omro, Winneconne, and Oshkosh schools teamed up last week to prepare and freeze over 1,000 lbs of Ratatouille sauce to liven up the school lunch menus. Locally-grown tomatoes, squash, eggplant, peppers, onions, garlic, and fresh herbs from farms within a 50 mile radius were used to make the sauce. The mounds of beautiful, fresh produce were truly a sight to see! The kitchen staff were eager to prepare this dish from scratch, using new processing equipment purchased through a USDA Farm to School grant, awarded to re:TH!NK last year.
     

Over 12,000 students will have the opportunity to eat the ratatouille in their school lunch in various dishes like quesadillas, wraps, pizza or as a side dish. Fun school events will help promote the sauce, like showing clips of the movie Ratatouille, sending home colorful fliers with nutrition information, recipes and games, and having volunteers hand out samples of the dish while inspiring the children to try it.

The idea (and the recipe) for the ratatouille was borrowed from Chef Monique Hooker, who created this dish for schools in Virocqua, Wisconsin. Thank you, Virocqua! Since all of the vegetables are plentiful and ready for harvest right now, this was the perfect time to make the sauce and freeze it for use later in the year.
re:TH!NK has been working with schools in Winnebago County for the past two years on farm to school programs to bring more fresh, locally-grown and nutritious food to schools to support and encourage healthy eating habits for the students. Farm to school connects the classroom, school meal programs, farmers, and the home to foster a positive attitude towards healthy food. The more local food that can be brought into the schools, the more chances kids have to taste and eat these products.  Students involved in Winnebago County Farm to School programs have been more willing to try new foods; an important first step towards lifelong healthy eating habits! At the same time, farm to school supports local farmers and the local economy.

Associating the ratatouille dish with characters from the popular children’s movie is a way to peak the students’ interest, branding these healthy foods in a way that appeals to them and competing with the mountains of messaging they receive daily for processed, less nutritious foods,.  By allowing students to try new foods in a fun and educational environment, the program encourages them to discover new healthy foods that taste good!

See the ratatouille-making in action!

Active Schools Getting in Gear for the 2014-15 School Year!

In most Winnebago County Elementary Schools, the beginning of August marks a very busy time for administrators, teachers, and other staff as they prepare for nearly 16,000 public, private and charter school students to enter through their doors in just a few short weeks!  re:TH!NK and Winnebago County Health Department are jumping in as well for the excitement of continuing on with sustainability and new implementation of Active School programs throughout the county.  During the 2013-14 school year, we had the opportunity to assist in the implementation of Active Classrooms in over 200 public and private school classrooms, reaching nearly 5000 elementary students in Winnebago County!

Active Classrooms Brain Break at Wilson Elementary School in Neenah, WI!

In addition to these programs, we also implemented some active recess programs, including a recess walking program at Roosevelt Elementary School in Neenah where students can earn charms for every 5 miles they walk!

We look forward to continued collaboration with Winnebago County Elementary Schools and hope to aid in the growth of the Active School programs in Winnebago County to ensure healthy places for our children to learn and grow!