Overview
The Junior League of Long Beach’s Kids in the Kitchen (KITK) program includes a popular and widely respected healthy eating and exercise fair, as well as an after-school food and nutrition program. Going on its 10th year, this growing and evolving program demonstrates to kids and their families the importance of proper nutrition and exercise.
Community partners
- CalFresh
- The Children’s Dental Health Clinic
- Healthy Active Long Beach
- Kaiser Permanente
- Kohl’s Cares
- Long Beach Dental Hygienists’ Society
- Long Beach Parks and Recreation
- Long Beach Water Department
- Medi-Cal
- Miller Children’s Hospital and the Miller Family Safety Coalition
- Operation Jump Start
- The Port of Long Beach
- SA Recycling
- St. Mary Medical Center
How it works
The JLLB program addresses the controllable factors (diet and inactivity) contributing to the critical issue of childhood obesity. The program additionally addresses the issue of low-income families’ lack of access to basic health services such as medical and dental and government assistance.
The primary long-term goal of JLLB’s KITK program is to help reduce the incidence of childhood obesity in Long Beach by providing education, demonstrations, and practical resources to at-risk children and their families, emphasizing the importance of making healthy meals and healthier choices as a family, as well as becoming more physically active in fun and safe ways. Another long-term goal is to assist low-income families to overcome access barriers to government health, dental, and nutrition assistance programs. This multi-faceted approach includes a healthy eating and exercise fair every March in recognition of National Nutrition Month, as well as an after-school program.
What’s the impact?
JLLB’s KITK program is the “go-to” low-income-targeted community event in Long Beach for the promotion of healthy eating and exercise, as well as childhood obesity prevention. KITK reaches more people than any other community event of its type (attendance averages 1,000 plus per year). This is evident in its participation numbers and continued community partnerships from leading community health organizations, such as its main event partner, Healthy Active Long Beach. Additionally, for the past four years, the main JLLB KITK event has taken place at Martin Luther King, Jr. Park, in the middle of a CX3 (Communities of Excellence in Nutrition, Physical Activity and Obesity Promotion) neighborhood.