Photo by RANDY PARKS

Kelly Novak of the Harney County Health Department was one of 40 people chosen from across the country to help Sesame Street and CNN create education resources for children and families. 

Sesame Street and CNN recently teamed up to promote Healthy Habits for Children and Families, an initiative aimed at integrating nutrition and physical activity into daily life. In order to launch the initiative, a focus group of 40 people was chosen from across the country to help create new education resources that will be distributed nationally. Three members of the focus group are from Oregon, including Kelly Novak of Burns.

Novak is the WIC (Women, Infants, and Children) coordinator for the Harney County Health Department, serving in that role for about three years.

“I was completely shocked when I was chosen,” Novak said.

The process began with an email Novak received about a month ago, inviting her to fill out an application and return it. She did so, and a short time later she received notice, requesting an interview. She participated in a virtual interview, and was then informed that she was selected for the group.

“It all happened so fast,” Novak said. “And I didn’t realize how much Sesame Street does for children and families.”

The focus group is tasked with creating a national education and resource curriculum that can be distributed to families, with emphasis on physical activity and how it builds strong healthy bodies, builds strong minds, and supports mental health. It also highlights various ways to make healthy food choices.

Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the resources will target all families, including those who may not have enough money to purchase healthy foods, and not just families with children up to a certain age. Novak said that because of financial issues, more people are utilizing food banks, and the group wants to help fight the stigma of using a charitable feeding system.

Novak noted that the group wants to emphasize the need to help everyone eat as healthfully as possible, even while coping with food shortages and uncertainties.

“It’s OK to use the charitable resources to provide healthy meals for your family,” Novak said.

Novak participated in the group’s first virtual meeting about a week ago, with former First Lady Michelle Obama as one of the presenters. Novak said Obama has partnered with Sesame Street several times in the past regarding  health and nutrition for children and adults, and she said it was “awesome” to have the chance to talk with her.

The group decided that the three main areas of their focus should be creating new resources for families and children, providing professional development opportunities for providers, and having all resources available online so that people can access the information anywhere, anytime.

The group meets once or twice a week, and Novak hopes to travel to New York for a meeting later in the year.

“I’m excited and honored to be a part of this,” Novak said. “During my interview, I talked about rural Oregon and what it’s like to live here. We don’t always have the freshest food because of transportation distances, and spoilage can be a problem. They were also surprised when I told them we only have three grocery stores in town.”

Novak has set three goals for herself to achieve while in the group.

The first is letting people know it’s OK to ask for help and helping them find the resources they need.

“I don’t want anyone to go hungry, which is why normalizing the charitable feeding system is important. I want parents to know times are hard, and parenting is hard, but they aren’t alone as there are people and resources to help,” she said.

The second goal is to let people know nutritious food should not be a luxury.

“Everyone deserves healthy food, and we can show parents how to create a budget, how to shop for healthy foods and still be cost effective,” Novak said.

The third goal is to increase education of healthy food and provide information about best practices for health and nutrition.

“I want to promote awareness of where food comes from, and promote healthier habits, less waste, and how food choices affect our minds and bodies. If your body doesn’t feel good, neither does your mind, and if your mind isn’t clear, your body doesn’t feel good. You have to keep both healthy and understand what it means to have a nutritious diet,” she said.

Once the focus group has finished its work, the information will not only be available online, but will also be distributed to healthcare providers, social services, and others to hand out to the population.