VALLEY CITY, N.D. (ON THE MOVE) – There’s nothing like a good old-fashioned game of BINGO! But how about BINGO with a new healthy twist? ON THE MOVE offered both ON THE MOVE Student Bingo for all kindergarten through grade 6 students in Barnes County and Winter Community Bingo for adult residents of Barnes County.
The COVID-19 pandemic changed much of the usual programming that is offered by ON THE MOVE. Each year in March, ON THE MOVE offers a physical activity program for students to get 60 minutes of physical activity each day and the VCSU athletes visit the schools to help kick off the program.
Andrea Winter, licensed registered dietitian and ON THE MOVE Coordinator at City County Health District states, “This year we were unable to offer the student ON THE MOVE program due to COVID restrictions and wanted to find another way to connect with the elementary students and offer fun physical activity and healthy eating activities.”
ON THE MOVE invited students to complete a weekly bingo card that focused on healthy eating and physical activity habits. Parents/guardians were encouraged to do the activities with their children to help them be healthier too. Winter continues, “When parents/guardians exercise, prepare food and eat together as a family it shows that they value healthy habits and will make a lasting impression with their children.”
BINGO squares featured activities such as doing jumping jacks for one minute, eating a meal together as a family, going for a family walk, or eating a green fruit or vegetable. Each student that completed a weekly bingo card won a small prize.
As a spinoff from the student bingo, ON THE MOVE also offered a Winter Community Bingo game. Cards were available in a variety of locations and anyone that completed a card and turned it in by March 31 was eligible for a prize drawing.
Jody Pfaff was one of the prize winners and took home a large basket of fruits and vegetables from Leevers grocery store. She stated, “We really enjoyed the BINGO game as a fun family activity while our son was participating in the school ON THE MOVE bingo.”
ON THE MOVE would like to thank Leevers, Bong’s Bootery, Handy Home & Hardware and City County Health District for donating prizes for the community BINGO game.
ON THE MOVE is funded through a federal grant and 18 ON THE MOVE partner organizations. The managing partner for ON THE MOVE is City County Health District and other partners include CHI Mercy Health, NDSU Extension- Barnes County, Sanford Health – Valley City, Essentia Health, VC Chamber of Commerce, Tourism and Small Business, Open Door Center, City of Valley City, Ministerial Association, Abused Persons Outreach Center, Barnes County Senior Citizens, Valley City Public Schools, St. Catherine School, Valley City State University, Valley City Parks and Rec, Sheyenne Care Center and Barnes County Ambulance.
