5 Healthy Out-of-School Time Myths Busted — Episode 011

In today’s episode, we chat with Ava DeBovis and Daniel Hatcher
from the Alliance for a Healthier Generation. The Alliance works
with NRPA on Commit to Health — our program to increase healthy
eating and physical activity during out-of-school time programs
managed by park and recreation departments.


Ava and Daniel address common barriers park and recreation staff
may feel when attempting to create healthier out-of-school time
and provide easy and practical solutions for overcoming them.
They use their mythbusting prowess to debunk:
Healthy out-of-school time is too expensive. My staff won’t buy
into healthy out-of-school time. I don’t have time to change or
implement new policies. My families are going to push back on
healthy celebrations in lieu of “traditional” celebrations like
cupcakes and pizza parties. I do not have enough support or
resources to do healthy out-of-school time.

Resources mentioned in this episode:


Commit to Health

Amazon Healthier Generation Store

Parks and Recreation Youth Engagement Guide

Alliance Food Planner Tool (for healthy holiday celebrations
and more!)

Wildlife Explorers

Parks and Recreation Implementation Guide (and more
resources!)

Alliance for a Healthier Generation Website

Healthy Out-of-School Time Assessment

Action Planning Tools

Healthy After School (HOST) Blog