Let’s Move Boise initiatives received significant financial support from several key donors, including the Blue Cross of Idaho Foundation for Health and Boise Parks & Recreation.

Additional in-kind contributions were provided by Whole Foods Market, Zamzow’s, Boise Community Forestry and our coalition members.

We are grateful for the support of these organizations and the hundreds of volunteers who helped make our programs so successful this year.

Goal IImprove access to healthy food and

physical activity, reducing screen time at child

care centers

Goal IIImprove nutritional

value of food/education at municipal venues

Goal IVImprove access

to healthy, affordable foods

Goal IIIIncrease participation

in school breakfast and lunch

GOALS

MISSIONCombat childhood obesity by increasing access to healthy food and physical activity

Goal VIncrease access to

physical activitythank you!

ANNUAL REPORT FY13

PROGRAMS & INITIATIVES

Let’s Move Boise Child Care WorkshopsA new workshop series coordinated by Let’s Move Boise gives child care providers educational resources, tools and guidance to incorporate healthy nutrition and physical activity into their facilities. Thirty-two child care providers attended the event March 9, April 6 and May 4 at the Central District Health Department; an additional 66 people were added to a waiting list. Participants received free continuing education, lesson plans and activities, handouts and information for parents, sample policies, and a certificate of completion.

Instruction was provided by Blue Cross of Idaho Foundation for Health, Idaho Association for the Education of Young Children (IAEYC), Boise Urban Garden School, Central District Health Department and Head Start. Participants who completed all three workshops and self-assessment surveys received a packet of educational materials

valued at $200. IAEYC, Blue Cross of Idaho Foundation for Health and Central District Health Department staff are planning additional workshops for 2014 with the good of implementing the workshops statewide by 2015.

2nd Annual Grow-a-RowLet’s Move Boise hosted the second annual Grow-a-Row program to help residents learn to garden and encourage them to distribute fresh fruits and vegetables to local food pantries. Grow-a-Row packets with seeds and gardening tips were distributed to more than 1,200 people at four locations throughout Boise. Packets included: 6 seed packets (cucumbers, squash, radish, beans, spinach, turnips), planting and gardening tips, a seed-planting guide, and a list of local food pantries by neighborhood. Packets were assembled by about 75 kids and adults, including volunteers from the J.R. Simplot Co., North Junior High School honor society and the Mayor’s Council on Children and Youth. Packets were distributed by the Idaho Botanical Garden, Healthwise, Idaho Foodbank, Boise Parks & Recreation and the Boise Urban Garden School.

Walk 150“The best way to lengthen out our days,” Charles Dickens once wrote, “is to walk steadily and with a purpose.”Over the past 12 months, hundreds of Boiseans of all ages have walked steadily and with a purpose to help commemorate our city’s 150th anniversary while encouraging a more active lifestyle.

Let’s Move Boise helped organize Walk 150, the Mayor’s challenge to kids and adults to walk 150 miles over the course of 2013. Participants logged almost 185,000 miles—enough for one person to crisscross the United States from coast to coast more than 60 times.

“Walking is a great way for children and adults to get active and to combat the increasing rates of obesity in our community,” said Mayor David H. Bieter.

A website was created providing an online tracking tool for participants to track their miles. The site also incorporates maps of 19 public parks and points of interest enabling citizens to find pathways throughout the city.

During the year, Mayor David H. Bieter joined citizens for walks at 16 public schools, 2 businesses, 2 Foothills trails, and at the Movies Under the Stars in Julia Davis Park. He also walked with participants in the Meet Me Mondays weekly program hosted by Saint Alphonsus Regional Medical Center and Bandanna Running & Walking.

Reaching kids was a major goal of Walk 150. School children walked or ran 20,723 during the year. In a business challenge focused on adults, workers at 22 businesses across the city walked 86,288 miles in 6 months.

At a year-end party on Monday, Dec. 9, the Mayor led a cheer for kids and adults who met the walking challenge and—in the process—improved their physical and mental health in 2013. Walk 150 was sponsored by the City of Boise and Let’s Move Boise with the Blue Cross of Idaho Foundation for Health. Additional support was provided by BOISE 150, the Boise Metro Chamber of Commerce and The Idaho Statesman.

KIDS & ADULTS LOG NEARLY

185,000 MILES FOR WALK 150

Kids Day of ServiceThe first-annual Kids Day of Service was a very successful two-hour volunteer work session and family fun event held on Sept. 10 at Garfield Elementary School. Seventy volunteers cut and stacked sod, leveled the ground, and then built and installed 8 garden beds. An additional 8 beds were constructed for transport to Hawthorne School. A total of 150 kids and parents joined us for healthy snacks, nutrition education activities, and games coordinated by the Boise Parks & Recreation Mobile Van program, Idaho Botanical Garden, Idaho State Department of Education, Boise Urban Garden School (BUGS), Whole Foods Market and Timberline High School’s environmental education club. In January, BUGs will lead a teacher/administrator/ parent school garden training session. The Junior League of Boise will help with garden maintenance and offer Kids in the Kitchen cooking classes and Especially Me!, a girls’ self-esteem building program.

Make Time for Breakfast Research shows that kids who eat breakfast perform better in school. Let’s Move Boise encouraged kids to eat breakfast—and learn more about the nutritional benefits of the school breakfast and lunch programs — by distributing more than 18,000 bookmarks with the lunch menus at back-to-school events throughout the Boise School District. “Make Time for Breakfast” ads appeared in the city’s fall 2013 Activity Guide, which is distributed to 72,000 subscribers of the Idaho Statesman, school district students and customers of Boise Parks & Recreation.

Harvest DayA recipe by Boise 2nd

grader Mac Wirth was named the Idaho winner in the “Healthy Lunchtime Challenge,” a competition promoted by First Lady Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move! initiative, Epicurious, and the U.S. Departments of Agriculture and Education. Mac’s delicious “Veggie Barley Salad” was served at all Boise schools on Sept. 26 for Harvest Day. Harvest Day is held annually to celebrate the Farm to School program, an effort to connect and support healthy local food and agriculture with schools and students.

Community Health and Group Evaluation (CHANGE)Boise State University and Central District Health Department (CDHD) are partnering with Let’s Move Boise to conduct a compre-hensive community health assessment in the Borah Quadrant of the Boise School District (Boise’s Central Bench). The Community Health and Group Evaluation (CHANGE) Tool is a comprehensive health assessment developed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to bring different sectors of the community together to identify strengths, weaknesses and opportunities to make high impact, long-lasting changes in the community. In September, BSU health promotion students and CDHD staff surveyed key community stakeholders in five sectors: the community at large, community organizations, schools, worksites and healthcare systems. The surveys assess each respondent’s current policies and practices around physical activity, nutrition, tobacco, chronic disease management and leadership support for these initiatives. The BSU students presented preliminary findings Dec. 5 in a public forum at the Boise Public Library. The Let’s Move Boise steering committee is analyzing results and developing a community outreach plan.

YEAH! Youth Engaged in Activities for HealthLet’s Move Boise helped support the work of the St. Luke’s Children’s Hospital YEAH! program by providing rewards to graduates of the healthy lifestyle program. YEAH! offers 6- and 16-week programs for kids and teens age 5-16 with a BMI of 85% or greater who are referred by a healthcare provider and supportive parents who agree to be involved. The program includes healthy (and delicious!) nutrition lessons, fun physical fitness classes, behavior modification lessons, clinic appointments and active participation by kids and parents.

WALK 150 BUSINESS CHALLENGE WINNERS

LEVEL 1 (1-10 employees) MILES 1st Gjording Fouser PLLC 6,367 2nd Advantage Walk-in Chiropractic 2,547 3rd Murie Design Group 1,603

LEVEL 2 (11-50 employees) 1st Elam & Burke, P.A. 5,818 2nd CSHQA 5,557 3rd Idaho Banking Company 3,992

LEVEL 3 (51-150 employees) 1st Pioneer Federal Credit Union 11,380 2nd ISU - Meridian Health Science Center 3,357 3rd Central District Health Department 3,261

LEVEL 4 (151-300 employees) 1st Idaho Statesman 7,976 2nd Boise Cascade 7,846 3rd Boise School District Food & Nutrition Services 7,833

LEVEL 5 (301+ employees) 1st Boise, Inc. 11,981

PRESENTATIONS• May3–We Are Better Together: Local

Idaho initiatives, panel discussion, Idaho Academy of Nutrition & Dietetics Conference

• June19-21–Let’s Move Boise/Health Initiatives in Child Care Licensing, Association of Idaho Cities conference

• Sept.9–Let’s Move Boise Child Care Workshop Series, Idaho Safety Net Forum

• Sept.17–Walking the Talk: How to Launch a City Walking Initiative, Idaho Park & Recreation Association/Montana Park & Recreation Association conference

• Sept.24–High Five Community Health Initiative and Walk 150, Association of Idaho Counties conference

• Oct.4–Let’s Move Boise Child Care Workshop Series, HEAL conference

EVENTS & HEALTH FAIRS• March10–Kids in the Kitchen, West YMCA

• July26–Activate Treasure Valley Night, Hawks Stadium

• Sept.25–Teacher’s Night Out, Zoo Boise

• Sept.26–Green Apple Day of Service, Taft Elementary School

• Oct.20–BSUHealthFair,StudentUnion

Nancee Bakken Saint Alphonsus Foundation

Melissa Bixby Executive Director

Girls on the Run

Peggy Bodnar Food & Nutrition Services Manager

Boise School District

Chuck Darby Recreation Coordinator Boise Parks & Recreation

Erin Guerricabeitia Executive Director

Boise Urban Garden School

Kellie Kohler Health and Nutrition Coordinator Friends of Children and Families

Rebecca Lemmons Policy Analyst

Central District Health Department

Beth Oppenheimer Executive Director

Idaho Association for the Education of Young Children

Amy Stahl Community Relations Manager

Boise Parks & Recreation

Kendra Witt-Doyle Executive Director

Blue Cross of Idaho Foundation for Health

Let’s Move Boise $1 Skate DayLet’s Move Boise hosted a low-cost family activity Feb. 24 at the city’s two-rink indoor arena. Participants received Let’s Move Boise string backpacks and had an opportunity to meet three players from the Idaho Steelheads. Nearly 830 kids and adults enjoyed an afternoon of skating at the event.

Ways to WellnessThe Boise School District showcased Let’s Move Boise initiatives in a monthly newsletter available on the district website. The website is accessed by thousands of families seeking information about school meal program and nutritional information.

Community Wellness FestivalLet’s Move Boise was a partner in Be Well Now, a free community wellness festival held April 16 at Boise State University. The Be Well Now festival focused on nutrition and physical activity for children and presented information in a playful and entertaining setting. Twenty community and health-related organizations hosted interactive booths. Over 2,000 children and family members attended the festival and Mayor Bieter hosted a 2-mile walk in conjunction with his Walk 150 sesquicentennial challenge.

Go NoodleFive-minute brain breaks created by Go Noodle have been incorporated into Let’s Move Boise meetings. Saint Alphonsus is partnering with the Blue Cross of Idaho Foundation for Health to roll out Go Noodle in school districts throughout southern Idaho. Studies show that these activities incorporating movement increase retention and classroom focus. Some of the 5-minute brain breaks align with core curriculum. Let’s Move Boise is helping to promote the website (www.gonoodle.com) to the general public.

Mentor & Meals MondayLet’s Move Boise is supporting Mentor and Meals Monday, a pilot program launched in November 2013 by the Boise School District Food & Nutrition Services program at Grace Jordan Elementary School. Pioneered by the Cincinnati School District, the program encourages teachers to become role models by eating school lunch with students and talking about good eating habits and nutrition. Participating teachers will be given a pre-pilot survey and tools for nutrition education, including games, flash cards and talking points about fruit, vegetables, vitamins and related topics.

LEADERSHIP TEAM

TO LEARN MORE ABOUT LET’S MOVE BOISEVisit our website: www.letsmoveboise.com

Like our Facebook page: www.facebook.com/letsmoveboise

Send an email: astahl@cityofboise.org

Call us: (208) 608-7611