North Carolina Agricultural and
Technical State University
College of Agriculture and
Environmental Sciences Newsletter
www.ag.ncat.edu
Preparing. Finding. Implementing solutions.
April 2018 • Vol. XVII, No. 2
Speedway to Healthy races to fight childhood obesity
Dr. HP's Highlights
Thousands of North Carolina school
children have brushed teeth with a giant
toothbrush and filtered through kidneys
during tours of the 1,200-square- foot, interactive
exhibit The Speedway to Healthy.
Designed to combat childhood obesity,
the custom-made exhibit of the human
body’s interior was created and is managed
by Cooperative Extension at North Carolina
Agricultural and Technical State University.
The Speedway has visited 26 counties across
the state in partnership with schools and other
child-centered organizations to reduce childhood
obesity by helping elementary students learn
more about their bodies’ relationship with food.
More than 20,000 students in kindergarten
through fifth grade have toured The Speedway
to Healthy since its launch in 2014. These pupils
have learned how different behaviors, especially
eating habits, affect their bodies and their health.
Unhealthy food choices, low physical
activity and other factors pose an alarming threat
to public health. One in three North Carolina
children and youths between the ages of 10 and
17 is overweight or obese.
Named to reflect North Carolina’s racing
tradition, the indoor exhibit features 1 1 pit
stops: starting line, brain, mouth, stomach, small
intestine, heart, lungs, kidneys, bones, muscles
and skin. After visiting the exhibit, children have
learned about the links among nutrition, health
and physical activity.
“What makes The Speedway different
from many other health lessons is that it’s not
traditional classroom-style learning,” says Dr.
Carinthia Cherry, nutrition specialist with
Cooperative Extension at A&T. “It’s experiential,
hands-on learning, so students get to learn by
seeing, thinking and doing.”
Volunteers are vital to the Speedway-to-
Healthy experience. Volunteer crew members
help assemble the exhibit structure, conduct the
five-minute presentations in each pit stop, and
take down the exhibit.
Schools and organizations can book The
Speedway to Healthy by contacting the 4-H
youth development or family and consumer
sciences agents at their local North Carolina
Cooperative Extension Center. The school or
organization also must identify an on-site exhibit
coordinator and must also sign a use agreement
for the exhibit.
The Speedway to Healthy is designed for use
with an audience of no fewer than 300 children.
A sponsoring organization that is not a school
must document its ability to attract at least 300
children to the exhibit as a condition for approval
as a host.
©Cooperative Extension at A&T
@NCATExtension
I went to Brazil a few weeks ago to learn
about agriculture in another country, on
another continent Not just any country, but
one whose main exports align, if not rival,
those in North Carolina: tobacco, sweet
potatoes, soybeans, poultry and pork.
I visited small farmers who still plow
with oxen instead of tractors. Yet, even as
I experienced that throwback, came views
of farm progress. These same vegetable
growers were also raising livestock and
poultry, developing aquaculture and eager
to pursue the next new niche to help them
profit They boldly experimented with
opportunities to raise a little of this, and a lot
of that.
I came back from South America
energized and more intent about the outreach
and research we need to support our
audience of small farmers. Small farmers,
almost by definition, have traditionally proven
to be resourceful. Butin more contemporary
times as their numbers dwindle - there are
about 45,000 of them in North Carolina -and
as farmland decreases, many farmers have
become reliant on one or two crops. Some
never quite recovered from the decline in
tobacco production.
Opportunities exist, though, for farmers
to apply for training and grants. Limited
resources do not indicate limited ability, and
that contradiction is one of the first barriers
that Cooperative Extension leaders at A&T
are working to remove.
As well, I expect our scientists to
continue pursuing problem-solving research
to help farmers advance in year-round
production practices.
Two speakers at our recent Small
Farmers' Appreciation Day event summarized
how ably we can proceed. U.S. Rep. Alma
S. Adams challenged farmers and others
pursuing a competitive edge in the 21st
century, to remember to ask: "Why, what if
and why not”
Steve Troxler, the N.C. Commissioner
of Agriculture who arranged the South
American tour, noted that for its many
agricultural advancements, Brazil does
not have a university land-grant system;
emphasizing how beneficial A&T and NC
State's expertise is to farmers.
So, what //right here in North Carolina
we equip small farmers to broaden their base
to become food suppliers on a global scale?
Whynot?Tbey have a land grant leading
their way.