During the summer months, Layne Langley, LSU AgCenter Area Nutrition & Community Health Agent worked with youth in both East Feliciana and West Feliciana to bring nutrition basics to them. Langley planned and coordinated hands-on, fun activities to reinforce program topics she taught the campers including Kitchen 101, MyPlate, Making Half Your Plate Fruits & Vegetables, and Eating Out.

Be Fit and Healthwise is an annual summer camp, hosted by RKM Primary Care for children, ages 6-14 of East Feliciana Parish and the surrounding area. The theme of the 2024 Be Fit and Healthwise Summer Camp was Implementing the Power of Wellbeing. The camp components included fitness and physical activity, nutrition, and behavioral health, which includes self-esteem, self-confidence, social skills, and character building. Langley conducted four programs to three group at the Be Fit & Healthwise Camp at Camp Avondale in Clinton.

The staff of the West Feliciana Parish Parks & Recreation hosts the West Feliciana Parks & Recreation Summer Camp each summer. Youth, ages 6-11 years old, from throughout the parish play sports and games, listen to guest speakers, and take part in field trips. The goal of the camp is for the youth to be “unplugged” so they can build relationships and develop social skills! Interactive activities help the children recharge over the summer. While at the West Feliciana Parks & Recreation Summer Camp in St. Francisville, Langley presented four sessions to one large group.

In the Kitchen 101 Session, Langley taught the campers proper measuring skills. She demonstrated how to measure liquid and dry ingredients and which measuring cups to use. Langley also talked with the campers about using measuring spoons and how to measure ingredients with them. The campers worked in teams to match cooking terms with cooking descriptions. They also matched pictures of cooking utensils with clues that described the utensils. The campers were also introduced to the air fryer. They made and sampled Fruit Salsa and Air Fried Cinnamon Chips.

During the MyPlate Session, the campers received an overview of the five food groups and were told the benefits of adding foods from the MyPlate to their diets. With the younger camp group, Langley read the book The Adventures of MyPlate Nutrition Hero and guided the youth in matching food cards with the food groups on a giant MyPlate mat. With the other groups, Langley created questions about the MyPlate. She had the campers spin the prize wheel and work in teams to answer the questions from the food group they landed on. The campers were excited to prepare and taste the Bean Quesadillas.

Knowing that fruits and vegetables are part of a healthy, balanced diet and that 1 in 3 children do not eat a fruit daily and nearly half do not eat a vegetable daily, Langley developed and delivered Make Half Your Plate Fruits & Vegetables Session. The campers not only learned about vitamins A and C but also that fruits and vegetables are nutrient rich. They were reminded of the forms (fresh, frozen, canned, and dried) they can find fruits and vegetables in. The campers worked in teams to identify fruits and vegetables from clues Langley provided. Campers made and sampled Apple Fruit Salad with a yogurt-cinnamon drizzle.

The fourth session Langley delivered was on eating out. She spoke about restaurant and fast-food choices and discussed calories and fats found in many fast foods. Langley shared recommended calories for their age group. She provided tips on how to make healthier choices when eating out. Campers participated in a Fast-Food Line Up. Campers were provided a card with a fast-food item and were asked to position themselves in order of where they believed their fast-food item would go on a scale of low to high in calories. Discussion followed with fellow campers giving suggestions about moving positions to either lower or higher in calories. The Eating Out Session wrapped up with the campers preparing homemade pizza bagels in the air fryer.

Thanks to Nia Kay and RKM Primary Care for providing supplies and recipe ingredients. Thank you also goes out to Preston King and Lorie Grezaffi with the West Feliciana parks & Recreation Summer Camp for making sure the equipment and recipe ingredients were available for the sessions.

For more information about the nutrition programs offered in East Feliciana Parish and West Feliciana Parish, contact Layne Langley at 225-683-3101 (East Feliciana) 225-635-3614 (West Feliciana), or at lalangley@agcenter.lsu.edu