Posted: October 3, 2022
A group of Pennsylvania 4-H members — Jordan Laroe and Charlie Vandine, of Sullivan County, and Caitlyn Shrodo, of Lycoming County — recently participated in the National 4-H Youth Summit for Healthy Living, held near Washington, D.C.
The conference is aimed at bringing together teen health leaders from across the country to focus on learning about and solving healthy living issues impacting their homes, communities and the economy.
Kayla Fusselman, Penn State Extension 4-H educator from Carbon County, attended the conference with the 4-H members. "The summit was focused on all different aspects of healthy living,” she said. “The teens attended sessions on topics such as drug use in the community, healthy cooking and mental health."
Designed for 4-H'ers in grades nine through 12, the summit provides opportunities to develop the knowledge and skills to address issues related to nutrition education, physical fitness, wellness, and emotional well-being.
"Some key takeaways were how drugs and alcohol affect every community and how to destigmatize it," Laroe said.
Fusselman said that one of the sessions, "The Community Food Experience: A Poverty/Hunger Simulation," was a particularly powerful experience for youth. The interactive simulation was designed to help participants gain a deeper understanding of the causes contributing to poverty and the challenges of hunger, while exploring the impact of food insecurity on individuals and communities.
In the simulation, the 4-H members received profiles with information about how much money they had in their account and whether they owned a car or had a bus pass. The goal was to obtain a healthy meal.
"People who didn't have a car had to go to the Quick Mart, but they only had $7 in their account," Fusselman said. "At a convenience store, everything's more expensive, so you're not going to get as healthy of food as you could from a grocery store."
Fusselman explained that some 4-H'ers had to stand in line for financial assistance to purchase food. "If you made one mistake on your application, you were sent to the back of the line," she said. "The kids were getting frustrated because they didn't mark the right box and were therefore denied assistance or had to redo the application."
Then the 4-H'ers were told the office was closing. "These government facilities have short office hours," Fusselman said. "It was a big reality check for a lot of these kids that so many people can struggle."
In addition to workshops, the summit included a field trip to the Smithsonian Institution, a night tour of Washington, D.C., and opportunities to connect with youth from other states.
"Some of the highlights were touring museums and monuments and making new friendships from all over the country," Laroe said.
Fusselman challenged the Pennsylvania 4-H’ers to meet youth from as many different states as they could.
"I think there were at least 30 states and Puerto Rico in attendance," she said. "The summit was well-organized and a great opportunity. I would encourage any kid interested in healthy living to consider applying to attend as a teenager."
Administered in Pennsylvania by Penn State Extension, 4-H is a nonformal educational youth-development program of the United States Department of Agriculture that helps young people develop knowledge and skills to become capable, caring and contributing citizens. To find your local program, visit the Penn State Extension website.
