Proper nutrition and regular exercise are two of the most important components to good health. The Plains Partnership for Health (PPH), funded by The Colorado Trust Foundation and managed by CAHEC, helps residents of all ages in Cheyenne, Kit Carson, and Lincoln Counties lead a healthy lifestyle by providing nutrition and physical activity programs. While CAHEC manages the PPH, staff responsible for implementing the program activities live and work in the counties they serve.

Cooking Co-op
Serving healthy meals starts by developing healthy menus featuring nutritional foods prepared properly. Classes are held once a month in all counties in facilities such as churches and community centers and teaches residents how to cook low-cost (less than $2.50 per serving), healthy meals. Participants receive dietician approved menus ahead of time and each is asked to bring one or more of the ingredients listed on the menu. In addition to cooking, the Cooking Co-op Program Coordinator teaches the group about nutrition, food safety, and cooking techniques. While communicating nutrition information is the primary objective, these classes double as an enjoyable social gathering for everyone involved! When the class is over, each participant returns home with a complete meal at a very low-cost and the knowledge as to why it is healthy.

Nutrition Education
Research has shown adult eating habits are quite often established during childhood, thus teaching children how to eat healthy is very important. One program under the PPH focuses on providing elementary age children and their parents with the knowledge and skills they need to eat healthy.

In the beginning of the PPH, CAHEC identified and purchased nutritional curriculum to provide to elementary school teachers that were tied to topics such as reading and math. In addition, the Health Educator with the PPH delivers nutrition presentations as a guest speaker in the classroom.

More recently, a partnership with Denver- based Operation Frontline®, has formed to provide after school nutrition and cooking programs children and their parents. Operation Frontline® has developed five to seven evidenced-based nutrition education and cooking programs targeted for different age children. One night a week for six weeks, parents and their children gather after school to follow one of the programs appropriate for the children’s age. For two hours, they learn to cook one meal together and study its nutritional value. Each evening, every family returns home with sufficient groceries to cook the same meal for their family to reinforce eating healthy and eating together as a family!

Grocery Store Program
Where better to start eating healthy than at the grocery store? CAHEC’s grocery store program began by soliciting the cooperation of local grocery stores to feature a different produce item each week. CAHEC provided stores with a display of nutritional information about the item as well as a healthy recipe incorporating that produce.

This program has evolved into a nutritional “taste-testing” day at the local grocery stores. The Health Educator for the PPH visits the stores every other month and conducts a demonstration of how to cook a healthy, inexpensive meal with the featured produce. If participants enjoy the dish, they are sent home with the recipe.

Another addition to this program is the Isles for Smiles, where some grocery stores have added information about how many steps are required to walk its aisles which reminds shoppers of the need for exercise as well as healthy diets.

Exercise for Health
In addition to proper nutrition, physical activity is important to a healthy lifestyle. In the beginning (2006) of the Plains Partnership for Health (PPH), the national initiative, America On The Move® (AOM) was adopted to start an exercise program. This organization inspires people of all ages to have fun and shows simple ways to become more active.

Since then, the physical activity program of the PPH has evolved to include regular activities such as yoga, aerobics, light weights, Therabands®, etc. One program success was in the Town of Kirk where 20 residents participated in a well-rounded physical activity program. After 12 weeks, the group lost a total of 150 pounds!

More recently, the PPH is incorporating the latest technology, the Wii™ System, into their physical activity programs. Wii™ is the name of an interactive electronic game system. This is not a console game played with joy sticks. Players have a wide choice of games they can play such as tennis, baseball or golf as well as activities such as playing music or dancing.

CAHEC conducted two community focus groups in these counties to determine what will keep them motivated to exercise. Lack of motivation and effort about physical activity revolved around limited indoor and outdoor resources, bad weather that prevents exercising outside, and the need to make exercise “fun” and not “work”. Thus, given the popularity of Wii™ and the request of these communities, CAHEC wrote and was awarded a small grant from At the bottom where it say The Colorado Trust Foundation, please change to The Colorado Health Foundation to purchase two (2) Wii™ Systems that will be placed in community facilities in Cheyenne and Kit Carson Counties.

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