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Vikings aid food programs
Food and nutrition experts have been saying for years that healthy eating habits have significant impacts on childhood learning and development. And, in fact, many of those experts were gathered Tuesday at Minnesota Vikings training camp to showcase a new partnership between the Vikings and several state service agencies to expand summer lunch programs for low-income kids.
But no matter what the experts say — or how they say it — they are no match for Vikings running back Adrian Peterson.
“I got his autograph,” said a starry-eyed Terrence Powell, who was among the 50 or so youths treated to lunch, prizes and superstars’ signatures during the event.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture started its summer lunch program for low-income children in 1968. The nationwide program is administered in Minnesota through the department of education.
During the school year, 270,000 children in the state receive free or reduced-price meals. Only 54,000 of them, however, receive those meals during the summer.
Regional officials with the USDA said the national lunch program is “100 percent funded” — but to reach more children, they need more sites to offer the program. Local officials with the Mankato Salvation Army have offered the summer lunch program for 10 years at several sites — but they are always looking for more.
And that’s why the Vikings and its Children’s Fund stepped in with a $92,000 grant to help expand lunch sites across the state.
“(The Vikings) create so much visibility,” said Joan Wadkins, communications director for Second Harvest Heartland, a hunger relief organization that partners in the lunch program. “When an athlete says ‘Eat healthy and be nutritious,’ it carries more impact.”
And several Vikings turned out Tuesday to carry that message.
In addition to Peterson — who has been, undoubtedly, the fan favorite among kids at training camp this year — defensive end Ray Edwards and safety Madieu Williams also were available. They signed every autograph requested and talked with kids about the importance of nutrition in their own lives.
Robin Tietz, who coordinates a summer lunch program through the Mankato Salvation Army, said she was pleased to see the athletes so involved. But she wasn’t as surprised, she said, to see the excitement when Vikings started walking through the door.
“I didn’t know who would show up,” Tietz said. “But it was a real treat for the kids.”
Even the experts themselves weren’t above a little friendly competition.
“The Vikings have kind of thrown down the gauntlet,” said Alan Shannon, a USDA public affairs official who also covers Illinois and Wisconsin. “We hope the Bears and Packers follow their lead.”
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