Cornerstone Care’s HONEY Program offers a lot of sweet opportunities to Greene County residents. HONEY – Healthy Options, Nutrition, Exercise, and Youth – is offered to all five Greene County school districts, Blueprints and Cornerstone Care patients who live in Greene County. It will be offered to 50 adults and 250 adolescents in grades 6 through 12.
Cornerstone Care and their partners are providing exciting new ways to promote a healthy lifestyle. The HONEY Program is brand new and stems from a federal grant to improve health in rural communities and Cornerstone Care’s dedication to serving those communities. The program is designed to aid adolescents and adults in leading a healthier lifestyle and meeting their fitness goals.
One of the services that the HONEY Program offers is exercise classes. Exercise classes are offered as a group or individually. Community Health Workers Emma Larson and Dillon Shields explain, “The classes accommodate each individual and their fitness goals. These classes can be held in an easy access area near the enrollee. Exercise classes may be available for students after school in their school’s gymnasium or fitness center. The program allows for virtual fitness classes as well to accommodate all individuals in all areas of the county.”
The HONEY Program also offers counseling and nutrition services. Cornerstone Care is consulting with registered dieticians from Washington Health Systems Greene and the Area Health Education Center in Pittsburgh to create nutrition lessons which will help HONEY Program participants develop and meet their nutritional goals. Cooking classes will be presented by Cornerstone Care Community Health Workers. Participants will prepare healthy food and learn about reading food labels, food groups, serving sizes, calories, and other tips for making meals at home. Program enrollees will also have access to virtual cooking classes.
To improve youth and adolescent health, all school districts in Greene County will teach the CATCH (Coordinated Approach to Child Health) curriculum from kindergarten through eighth grade. CATCH is committed to assisting children with getting more physical activity and nutritious foods and aligns with the CDC’s Whole School, Whole Community, Whole Child (WSCC) model. It was specifically chosen because of its proven effectiveness over the past 30 years. Emma says, “CATCH shares knowledge about the importance of eating a healthy, balanced diet and emphasizes playing (exercising) every day.”
Several wonderful after-school options are offered for area students. Students can take cooking lessons where they learn to cook healthy food and about reading food labels, food groups, serving sizes, calories etc. In addition to the value of the knowledge obtained from the cooking lessons, the food is brought to the school and is completely free. Students also have the potential of after-hours gym classes available.
There are so many benefits and perks to the HONEY Program that it’s hard to share them all. Dillon says, “The HONEY program has many benefits! This program is completely free and works very closely with the community. You receive multiple free services which include: a Fitbit, cooking classes, fitness classes, personalized nutrition/fitness plan, one on one support, medical visits from the mobile medical unit to monitor your health journey, prizes, and more. We aim to make this program fun, enjoyable, and helpful.”
Students in grades sixth through twelfth can join HONEY by asking their school’s front desk for an intake packet. Cornerstone Care patients interested in the enrolling in the HONEY program should consult with their Cornerstone Care medical provider.
For more information visit our website at https://www.cornerstonecare.com/resources/outreach-programs or call us at 724-852-1001.
