Susan Barr
Kern Valley Sun

Kids and parents from throughout the valley turned out in droves for last Saturday’s Fourth Annual Nutrition Olympics held in Tank Park in Lake Isabella.

Children of all ages joined in enthusiastically at the fun event put on by the Kern River Valley Family Resource Center. Each child received a medal for participating in events such as coconut bowling, cucumber javelin, apple toss, and lemon-lime races. They were also encouraged to try a variety of fruits and vegetables at the sampling table.

Elizabeth and Brandon Cook of Bodfish stand behind their baby girl, Leeanna who was the youngest competitor at the Fourth Annual Nutrition Olympics held at Tank Park in Lake Isabella on Sept. 26 .

Event Coordinator, Alisa Hinkle of the Resource Center stated, “We borrowed the idea for our Nutrition Olympics from the Dole.com web site. They call their event Nutrition Adventures. It’s just an easy and fun way to interact with kids and families while promoting eating more fruits and vegetables and getting physical activity.”

Hinkle explained that the event is funded from a grant through the Network for a Healthy California who in turn gets their funding from the USDA Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (formerly the Food Stamp Program). “Kernville Union School District has received nutrition grant money for a few years now. It also funds the three Nutrition Educators in the After School Programs who also come to our event to do the fruit and veggie taste testing,“ added Hinkle.

Michelle Van Hook, another staff member of the KRV Resource Center commented, “This was a very successful event. The kids had a lot of fun and they also had an opportunity to try fruits and vegetables that they might not normally be served at home.” Van Hook’s young son, Colton enjoyed helping his mom run one of the games. The five year old stated, ”It was fun. I liked the coconut bowling the best.”

The well-attended event saw more than 150 valley residents enjoying the children’s athletic endeavors and the cool morning shade the large trees provided. Elizabeth and Brandon Cook of Bodfish saw all the balloons as they were driving by and decided to check out what was happening. They were glad they did because their new baby, four month old Leeanna received the honor of being the youngest participant in this year’s Olympics. Leeanna’s dad carried the baby girl around in her infant car seat at the different events so that she could take part in the fun and games. Holding a plastic apple in her tiny hands, she appeared rather pleased with their father-daughter performance

Kally and Paul Hess of Lake Isabella brought their three children Arian, Savannah and Ty to participate in the activities. “This is the first time our kids have taken part in this event,” stated Kally. “It was good family fun.” Her husband added, “I think it’s made the kids more aware of the importance of nutrition.”

 After the games wrapped up, a sea of face-painted kids crowded around the prize table. They were all eager to see if they had won additional medals and one of the many great raffle prizes. Look for next year’s event to be even bigger and better as word gets out that it really is ok to play with your vegetables.