For more than 20 years, Nebraska Kids Fitness and Nutrition Day has brought fourth-graders from across central and western Nebraska to university campuses for a full day of hands-on nutrition lessons and physical activity — all on a shoestring budget of roughly $15,000, split across as many as seven locations. Program co-founder Kaiti George of the University of Nebraska at Kearney (UNK) kept the program alive through borrowed equipment and in-kind donations. That precarious existence was threatened last fall when the Nebraska Beef Council, the program's primary funder for nearly two decades, informed George that their support could no longer continue.
A Workshop Changes Everything
Facing an uncertain future, George attended the Water, Ag and Nutrition Workshop hosted by the Water, Climate and Health Program, a joint initiative of the Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute (DWFI) at the University of Nebraska, the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC) College of Public Health (COPH), and the Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources (IANR) at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln (UNL). The workshop was designed to surface connections between agriculture, water, nutrition and health across a deliberately broad gathering of researchers, public health officials, nonprofit leaders and community practitioners.
Near the end of George's panel presentation, an audience member asked about the program's long-term sustainability. George was candid: funding was going away, and the future was unclear. During the break that followed, Sydney Stein, Nebraska's state epidemiologist, pulled George aside. Stein had recently stepped into her role with a direct charge from the governor to address obesity across the state, and she had been actively seeking partners with proven, existing programs. When she heard about two decades of successful outreach to thousands of rural Nebraska fourth-graders, she was immediately interested.
Five Years of Funding Secured
That sidebar conversation set off a chain of events that would transform the program within months. Stein included Nebraska Kids Fitness and Nutrition Day in Nebraska's application to the Rural Health Transformation Program (RHTP), a federal initiative through the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services tied to the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. When Nebraska was awarded $218.5 million per year — exceeding the original grant amount — Stein secured additional community-based programming funding in budget negotiations.
The result: Nebraska Kids Fitness and Nutrition Day received an approved allocation of $500,000 per year for five years. The funding will allow the program to update and professionally brand its curriculum, replace aging equipment, train educators and add five new site locations across Nebraska — extending reach beyond its current central and western Nebraska base. Future phases may support after-school and community-based programming through subawards to YMCAs and similar organizations.
The Power of Convening
For Julie Petersen, assistant professor at UNMC and affiliate faculty with the Water, Climate and Health Program, who helped organize the workshop and the panel in which George participated, the outcome reflects exactly what cross-sector, in-person gatherings are meant to produce.
"Having nonprofits involved, local and state health departments—all of that just makes it so much richer," Petersen said.
Stein echoed that sentiment, noting that building relationships before funding opportunities arise makes it far easier to submit thoughtful, competitive applications on tight timelines.
While the fitness program operates independently, its recent trajectory underscores the critical roles entities like DWFI and IANR play in impactful, cross-sector collaboration. Through the Water, Climate and Health Program the entire NU system helps bring together leaders in agriculture, public health and community programming in ways that surface shared challenges and actionable solutions. It was within this connected environment that a chance interaction between George and Stein occurred, ultimately securing transformational funding for NKFND. Such cross-collaboration creates impacts beyond direct program ownership by opening opportunities where innovative ideas, partnerships and investments can take root.
For George, the shift is almost difficult to absorb after two decades of running on goodwill and borrowed gear.
"We have the right people on this team to dream big," she said.
Fall events are already being planned for September and October 2026.
Nebraska Kids Fitness and Nutrition Day was developed in 2004 by Kaiti George and Kate Heelan of the University of Nebraska at Kearney. Organizations or institutions interested in hosting future events may contact George at georgekd@unk.edu.
