Creating a culture of wellness

Our COWP and INEP programs support educators, parents, and children to be healthy and well.

Who we are

Culture of Wellness in Preschools (COWP)

COWP is a comprehensive and collaborative early childhood obesity prevention program, which aims to promote a “culture of wellness” in preschool settings by increasing fruit and vegetable consumption and physical activity levels. This is accomplished by bringing the following to preschool sites throughout Colorado: 1) classroom-based nutrition education; 2) a preschool physical activity professional development program; 3) parent wellness workshop series; 4) a staff workplace wellness program; and 5) a strategic planning process to make center environment and policy changes that focus on increasing healthy eating and physical activity levels. All program components are evidence-based or promising practices.

A unique aspect of COWP is that it focuses not only on the preschool children, but also on the children’s teachers and parents because it recognizes the importance of these individuals as role models and decision-makers in the lives of the children. COWP is one of the Rocky Mountain Prevention Research Center’s projects.

Integrated Nutrition Education Program (INEP)

INEP is a creative and fun way for kids to learn about healthy eating in their classroom and to share what they learn with their families. Each lesson includes a hands-on cooking activity that teaches students how to prepare and taste new fruits and vegetables. INEP is funded by SNAP-Ed and conducted through partnerships with the University of Colorado and various school districts and schools from around the state.

What we do

Diversity, equity, and inclusion

We will integrate social justice and equity principles into our program’s culture and curriculum to promote health and wellness best practices which highlight and honor the histories and cultures of the communities we serve. We will be driven by goals that are clearly outlined, tracked, measured, and that have accountability systems that explicitly promote social justice and equity.