‘Nestlé/Newark Now!’, which was launched in 2012 with Newark’s Mayor Cory A Booker, will reach twice as many families in year two. Some of the mothers and other women who went through the first programme will become ‘peer educators’.
In Newark, nearly one third of children aged 3-5 years old are classified as obese – three times the US national average. ‘Nestlé/Newark Now!’ has been designed to try to address this.
The programme, run by Nestlé and the community organisation Newark Now!, helps fill a ‘gap’ in nutrition education that occurs after the first year of post-natal doctor visits and before the child reaches school age, the company said.
The curriculum was created by an advisory board made up of local nutrition and public health experts, as well as community members with experience in engaging with local residents to help manage programme content and activities.
Starting in March, parents and other women who were picked to become ‘peer educators’, will begin sharing their knowledge with hundreds more families.
Source: Nestlé
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