Swapping Fries for Fruit at Kentucky State Parks

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Sometimes getting public places to make healthy changes is simple: just ask!

The Tweens Nutrition and Fitness Coalition (TNFC) is a group of over 30 community members working together to create healthy food and physical activity environments for  Lexington, KY kids ages 9-13.

A coalition member was visiting a Kentucky State Park and filled out a comment card requesting that they put more healthy options on the resort dining menus.

Already working in healthy food guidelines, TNFC developed Better Bites, nutritional guidelines meant to be implemented wherever kids are: recreation centers, schools, camps, and more.

The comment card was taken seriously, and changes began to happen.

A request that took seconds to write ended in all 17 Kentucky State Parks Resorts improving the overall nutrition of their menu items. Portion sizes were reduced, buns and bread were changed to whole wheat, sodium was cut, and now five out of the six kids’ menu items meet Better Bites nutrition guidelines. Now, instead of getting an automatic order of fries, young diners now automatically receive fresh fruit and veggies with their meals.

Can you see your community doing something like this? Is it time to visit a Kentucky State Park?

Check out what else TNFC is up to and where else in Kentucky you can find Better Bites.