MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. – Midwest Dairy Council and the Minnesota Vikings are teaming up as part of a national movement to improve youth health and wellness. On Sunday, Dec. 4, 14 student leaders of the Fuel Up to Play 60 health and wellness initiative who have been instrumental in implementing the program in their schools will get to experience Mall of America Field from a pro football player’s perspective: they’ll take the field at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome before the Vikings game vs. the Denver Broncos.
Fuel Up to Play 60 student leaders encourage their peers to make healthier food choices and commit to 60 minutes of activity each day as part of Fuel Up to Play 60, an in-school nutrition and physical activity program launched by the National Dairy Council and National Football League, in collaboration with United States Department of Agriculture. The program, in which more than 70,000 schools nationwide and more than 1,250 schools across Minnesota are involved, encourages youth to consume nutrient-rich foods and achieve at least 60 minutes of physical activity every day.
The on-field event will include 14 students from Minnesota, South Dakota and North Dakota, including Fuel Up to Play 60 State Student Ambassadors. These students were selected to attend the game because they have shown leadership in their schools’ Fuel Up to Play 60 programs. The students will meet Viktor, the Vikings mascot; Princess Kay of the Milky Way, Mary Zahurones; Ken Herbranson, a Minnesota dairy farmer and chairman of the Midwest Dairy Association Minnesota Division Board; and Mike Kruger, CEO of the Midwest Dairy Association before the game. The 14 students will also run out of the tunnel in front of the Vikings ship 30 minutes before kickoff. During the game, there will be a special announcement recognizing the students from Fuel Up to Play 60 and their enthusiasm for encouraging peers to make healthy, active decisions.
“Understanding how to eat a balanced diet and be active for good health is a critical, life-long lesson to learn at a young age,” says Julie Mattson Ostrow, MS, RD, director of health and wellness, Midwest Dairy Council. “Fuel Up to Play 60 teaches students these values through a fun program that involves their friends, their schools and their families.”
“We’re excited to team up with Midwest Dairy Council on the Fuel Up to Play 60 initiative,” says Steve LaCroix, Minnesota Vikings vice president of sales and marketing/chief marketing officer. “The program will have a lasting impact on Minnesota’s students, as participants apply the lessons they learn about nutrition and physical activity to their lives.”
Midwest Dairy Council®, an affiliate of National Dairy Council, is the nutrition education division of Midwest Dairy Association. The Council is dedicated to dairy nutrition research and education through the investment of more than 11,000 dairy farm families across 10 Midwestern states, and is committed to child health and wellness through our collaborative program, Fuel Up to Play 60. For more information, visit www.midwestdairy.com. Follow us on Twitter and find us on Facebook at Midwest Dairy.
Source: Midwest Dairy Council