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Linda Maly's students are questioning what's on their plates.

At lunch one day, her kindergartners and first-graders quizzed her playfully. "Is this food healthy? What about this?"

With whole-grain spaghetti in front of them, Maly decided to play along.

"If you eat all your spaghetti, I'll tell you why it's so healthy," Maly said.

That started the questions. Is it the meat? The sauce?

Keep guessing, she said.

Is it the grain?

They had guessed it. Maly was impressed. "That was a tough one," she said.

Since Maly helped launch a program last year encouraging healthy eating and exercise at St. John Nepomucene elementary school in Weston, Neb., students have become more curious about what they eat and how they play.

The program, called "Fuel Up to Play 60," provides funding for schools around the country to buy physical activity equipment, promote healthy foods and institute exercise programs. St. John has received nearly $4,000.

With the funding, Maly has championed school-wide events such as dairy tastings, a healthy food video competition and after-school workout sessions, all with the goal of fostering a healthier student body.

For her efforts, Maly was named Fuel Up to Play 60's Nebraska Adviser of the Year.

"The program has been wonderful for us," Maly said. "What an important cause it is to get kids in schools eating healthy and exercising."

The program stresses a simple message: Eat whole grains, low-fat dairy, fruits and vegetables. Stay active. Make a difference.

And what a difference it has made, Maly said.

When the program began, students were encouraged to walk before school and for 40 minutes after school on Wednesdays.

Though students are bused home after school, some parents made arrangements for their children to stay late for the walk. Soon, parents began asking if they could walk, too.

By the end of the school year, students had reached their goal of walking a collective 6,000 miles — the equivalent of walking from Weston to Rome.

The biggest benefit of the program, Maly said, is that students are thinking about a healthy lifestyle while they are young.

A recent Division of Public Health report found that almost one-third of Nebraska children ages 10 to 17 are considered overweight or obese, mirroring the national average.

Fuel Up to Play 60 was launched in 2010 as a collaboration between the National Dairy Council, the Midwest Dairy Council and the National Football League, with the goal of encouraging kids to eat healthy and be physically active for at least 60 minutes a day.

Setting goals, as well as involving kids in planning events, is key to getting kids excited about the program, Maly said.

In May, eight students traveled to Omaha to hear speakers and plan activities for next school year. They decided on several events, including a "Super Bowl" competition in which students will log their exercise outside of school for a chance to be in a game show at a school assembly.

Maly and students from St. John have been invited to awards ceremonies, to drink milk with Gov. Dave Heineman in Lincoln and to a summit in Washington, D.C., to meet Rams quarterback Sam Bradford and former "Top Chef" contestant Carla Hall in July.

"They feel ownership for the program," Maly said. "They see the Fuel Up to Play 60 emblem, and they get excited."

In Nebraska, 981 schools have signed on to the program. Schools that create their own exercise and incentive programs can apply for up to $4,000. So far, 19 schools have qualified, receiving a total of $57,500.

Maly said the program's success at her small, Catholic school can be traced to support from the school food manager, teachers and parents.

"We think our children will learn best when they're healthy physically and spiritually."

Contact the writer:

michael.bamesberger@owh.com

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