Fall 2006

Bob Evans gift takes nutrition program further

A gift from Bob Evans Farms will enable Miami University to expand its Parent and Child Healthy Weight Management program to low socio-economic families in Preble and Butler counties this coming year.

The program, which is offered through the Center for Health Enhancement, has shown great success in the last two years with 40 participants so far. The $25,000 gift will enable low-income residents, who may not normally be able to afford a program of this nature, to enroll.

Mary Cusick ’78, senior vice president for restaurant marketing and corporate communications, said Bob Evans wanted to support the program because more families would have access to the program. The company also liked the emphasis on children and parents learning together. “Families with children are very important to us,” she said. “They are important to us as customers, of course, but also as our employees.”

The Parent and Child Healthy Weight Management Program includes 15 weekly sessions in which participants:
• Learn about healthy food choices
• Develop cooking techniques for healthy foods
• Learn about physical activity and the role that it plays in weight management
• Learn about behavior management for making lifestyle changes

Cusick said Bob Evans also hopes to learn from the program. “We’d like to find out what parents and children like and dislike, how we can use that in our messaging and make good food choices more interesting,” she said.