Stevens Point leaders take initiative to motivate kids to live a healthy lifestyle with scavenger hunt at farmers market Saturday – WSAW

STEVENS POINT, Wis. (WSAW) – With recent data showing obesity rates increasing over time, Stevens Point leaders are making it their priority to take action on motivating children to live healthier lifestyles.

NewsChannel 7 first introduced viewers to the book ‘Kids, C’mon Let’s Get Healthy! A complete kids’ guide to a healthy lifestyle,’ a little more than a month ago. The book is written by Dr. Sonal Chandratre, a pediatric endocrinologist at Aspirus Health in Stevens Point. Her goal is to get the book in the hands of every child in the community.

“I was looking through the book and I’m like, ‘Wow, this is exciting,” Stevens Point Mayor Mike Wiza said.

Mayor Wiza hopped on the push after Dr. Chandratre approached him with her book.

“Part of my job is connecting people in groups to make things happen. And the first thing that popped into my mind was, ‘Wow, this would be great at the farmers market or getting farm shed involved’,” he explained.

This Saturday, Aug. 20, there will be a unique scavenger hunt at the Stevens Point farmers market. There, kids will receive a $4 token to go and shop for their favorite color fruits and vegetables from the vendors. They will also get a free copy of the book.

“This is all about community. So if this is a community problem or community concern, then it’s again, the community who’s going to join hands, and try and mitigate some of these challenges that we’ve been facing for decades. And nothing better than this, right,” Dr. Chandratre explained.

The scavenger hunt is free for kids to participate in. That’s because a significant donation was made by the Community Foundation of Central Wisconsin and the Aspirus Foundation.

“One thing I can say is that almost everything that’s really good and exciting about our community, comes from these partnerships. It’s people who see a common goal, and band together to help get it done. So the way I see it is, this is symbiotic. Right? We have a medical professional in the medical facility, talking about the importance of healthy living and healthy eating. And then we connect that with a group that produces healthy foods,” Mayor Wiza said.

“No matter how many times we have this discussion, within the clinic setting, when we come out in the community and have these fun and interactive programs for children, that makes it so exciting for children, and it sticks,” Dr. Chandratre said.

The main goal of the event is to encourage young children to eat all the different kinds of colored fruits and veggies, like her book references to. There will be a total of 100 books given to children who attend the farmers market Saturday.

Mayor Wiza and Dr. Chandratre will be at the market from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.