Fort Sill builds on Healthy Base Initiative with recess program

By Leah Lauterberg, Fort Sill CannoneerFebruary 19, 2015

CDC
The Recess Before Lunch program advocates physical activity before eating lunch for children whether at school or the child development centers. As a complement to the Healthy Base Initiative, the program shows benefits of increased fruit and vegetab... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

FORT SILL, Okla. (Feb. 19, 2015) -- Recess Before Lunch (RBL) is a new program being developed in conjunction with Healthy Base Initiative to further benefit the fitness and health of children here.

The program, already being used in many Department of Defense, and public schools across the country, promotes recess before students eat lunch. This change of schedule has been shown to increase fruit and vegetable consumption, increase focus in afternoon classes, and provide a calmer and more conducive eating environment.

As a leader for the HBI program, Fort Sill is no stranger to promoting healthy lifestyles and implementing programs that complement those goals. So it should come as no surprise that RBL programs are already in effect at the child development centers and at Geronimo Road Elementary School (GRES).

Already tasked with HBI, Ivory Marshall, Child, Youth and School Services coordinator, oversaw implementation of a newer healthy menu at the CDCs and school age center. So while that promoted healthier eating and better choices about food, Williams said the RBL is something that comes naturally at the centers and works in conjunction with the menus.

"When I saw the recess before lunch, I'm thinking, we do that anyway," said Marshall. "So that just plays along with our healthy based lunches, our menus that we've created, but it's something we do. We don't wait until the afternoon to go out."

The CDCs, weather permitting, take children out twice a day for 45 minutes once before lunch and once in the afternoon. The positive effects of having the first recess period before lunch are easily seen.

"They tend to eat all their food once they play, they take in more water," said Marshall. "Right after we do lunch we do nap-time and they tend to get more adequate rest. When we can we go outside and they jump around and play, they need the rest and we see that."

Along with the benefits of better rest time and increased intake of healthier foods and water, Marshall said the kids benefit from increased focus and calmness because they have the same schedule each day and know at what times they will go outside and play.

The RBL program has also made a difference at Geronimo Road Elementary where they implemented the program at the beginning of the school year.

"As you know we're part of the alliance healthier generation challenge," said Sara Breeze, GRES physical education teacher. "That is part of the healthy schools challenge and the USDA challenge and one of their components is to add recess before lunch because of all the benefits."

Over the summer the school planning team worked to incorporate the change, said Breeze. They figured out how to manage the necessary recess periods without losing valuable academic time.

"The healthy based initiative went along with the alliance for healthier generations," said Breeze. "That's where it all started last year was the healthy based initiative and they pushed for the alliance, so it all fits together."

Department of Defense-level coordinators who are working to implement the program throughout the military recently visited GRES.

"We had people come from Washington D.C. and they talked to Sara," said Lana Welch, Geronimo Road Elementary School vice-principal. "They were promoting the recess before lunch program. Trying to get other schools involved, and they were surprised to know that Geronimo Road already does this. They were very excited and came by to talk to us."

Welch has seen multiple benefits to having recess before lunch.

"Because they've had this physical activity and they've been outside, they come in and they're hungry," said Welch. "This is first school I've ever been to in 27 years where we've had recess before lunch and we don't have kids coming in with stomach aches, because they aren't going out and playing really hard on a full stomach, so that's a benefit too. I think they are really more focused."

Breeze has been on lunch duty for 10 years and has seen many positive changes amongst all the grade levels since implementing the RBL program.

"I really like kindergarten lunch duty and that is the biggest change I have seen," said Breeze. "That is because the first thing is they go outside and get their wiggles out, they come in and they eat more. They are calmer and more relaxed when they go back to the class. There is no lost instructional time because the teachers don't have to say 'well go get a drink, go to the bathroom, let's calm down for 10 minutes, let's cool off for a few minutes.' They don't have to do that anymore."

The older grades are also in less of a rush, said Breeze and Welch. There are less incidents of rushing out to play and not eating as much because of that. This leads to less stomach aches and complaints of not feeling well during the afternoon.

Benefits of this program are also being seen worldwide at DoD schools such as Yokota West Elementary School and Joan K. Mendel Elementary School in Japan, have seen a reduction in food waste and experienced fewer disciplinary problems. Consumption of more fruits and vegetables was seen as less students rushed through their food just to squeeze in extra play time at recess.

The progress of the program will continue to be measured by the DoD as more schools make the change to recess before lunch; helping support the healthy base initiative across the military.