In today’s fast-paced society, Americans are making more trips to the drive-through and fewer and fewer to the supermarket produce section. That’s why Ball State’s taking one Indiana county on a health reroute via diet and exercise, helping them lose more than a ton of cargo along the way.

Operation Wellness was designed to improve the health, fitness, and overall quality of life for the people of Wells County, Indiana. The Ball State-run program consists of “Wellness University” for adults and “Wellness Prep” for children. The initiatives are crucial to creating a healthy community. The project’s in-school and after-school physical activity programs; adult exercise, nutrition, and smoking cessation classes; in-school nutrition consultation and education; and the “Dump Your Plump” workplace weight-loss teams have literally helped Wells County drop more than a ton of weight and get on track for healthy lifestyles.

The program, headed by Carol Friesen, associate professor of family and consumer sciences, is also an excellent immersive learning opportunity for students. Senior dietetics major Lindsay Fortman got hands-on experience while working with elementary students at an Operation Wellness-sponsored health fair.

“I put together a lesson plan to teach third-graders about nutrition,” Fortman says. “It was a great opportunity because I’m interested in working with kids in the future.”

Operation Wellness is funded by $1 million in grants from the national Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the local Caylor-Nickel Foundation, and other local funding partners.