Operation Better Start Chosen for National Program

12:00AM / Tuesday, October 18, 2005Print Story | Email Story

Pittsfield - Operation Better Start, a not-for-profit pediatric and adolescent nutrition, health and fitness program of Berkshire Health Systems, has been selected as one of 14 organizations in the nation to serve as an â€œintensive community siteâ€ for the We Can! program from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Ways to Enhance Childrenâ€™s Activity and Nutrition (We Can!) is a national education program designed to help prevent overweight and obesity among youth between the ages of 8 and 13. We Can! provides resources and community-based programs for parents, caregivers and youth that focus on behaviors to encourage healthy eating, increase physical activity and reduce sedentary time. Operation Better Start is teaming locally with the Pittsfield Public Schools, the Pittsfield Family YMCA, Head Start of the Berkshires, Berkshire North WIC and Berkshire Nautilus to offer the We Can! program. â€œPreventing overweight and obesity among our children is a critical public health issue,â€ said Peter Gazzillo, MBA, RD, CPT, Director of Operation Better Start. â€œWe have spent the past eight years developing programs in Pittsfield for children from birth to young adulthood and their families through collaboration with many community agencies and pediatric specialists. Our participation in this important national initiative combines our existing successful efforts in the community with the resources of the NIH and its partners to provide a comprehensive program for our youth to attack what has become a national crisis.â€ More than 40 communities across the nation have committed to implement We Can! programs with parents and children. Fourteen sites, including Pittsfield, were selected as intensive community sites to receive training and to participate in thorough evaluations of the We Can! program. The Operation Better Start program is one of only two in New England - the other being in Boston under the direction of the Boston Public Health Commission. Operation Better Start has provided numerous programs in the community aimed at children and families, including: Â· Over 2000 individual nutrition consults annually to children and their families facing health issues such as obesity, asthma, diabetes, eating disorders, and insulin resistance. These visits are provided at no cost to the families and with no limitation on the number of visits. Â· Youth fitness programs at the Berkshire Nautilus and the Pittsfield Family YMCA. Â· All nutrition consult services to Berkshire County Head Start. Â· Clinical services to the Berkshire Women, Infants and Childrenâ€™s Program (WIC). Â· Body Mass Index assessments of all elementary school children in Pittsfield and at Reid Middle School. Â· Before-school walking programs in the Pittsfield elementary schools. Â· After school nutrition and fitness programs at both Reid and Herberg Middle schools. Â· Health education by Registered and Licensed Dietitians one day each week for staff and students of the Pittsfield elementary schools. Â· Thousands of dollars in free nutrition materials and fitness supplies for each elementary school to support established programs. For more information on Operation Better Start, call 413-445-9243 or visit www.berkshirehealthsystems.org , the home page of Berkshire Health Systems. We Can! was developed by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) and is being promoted in collaboration with three other NIH Institutes -- the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, and the National Cancer Institute -- as well as several national private sector organizations. National partners for We Can! include Action for Healthy Kids, the American Academy of Family Physicians, the American Dietetic Association, the Association for State and Territorial Public Health Nutrition Directors, Black Entertainment Television (BET) Foundation, the International Food Information Council Foundation, North American Association for the Study of Obesity, the Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Parentsâ€™ Action for Children, the Presidentâ€™s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports, Sprit of Women, the White House Initiative on Asican American and Pacific Islanders and Univision Communications Inc. Supporting organizations include the American College of Sports Medicine, Pennsylvania Advocates for Nutrition and Physical Activity, and Produce for Better Health Foundation. For more information, visit or call toll-free 1-866-35-WE CAN (866-359-3226).

Stockbridge Grange Community Dinner

03:12PM / Tuesday, February 03, 2026

STOCKBRIDGE, Mass. — The Stockbridge Grange is holding a community dinner on Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026, featuring spaghetti and meatballs, salad, and bread with dessert choices of chocolate cream or lemon meringue pie.

Dinner is $17.00 per person, take out only with 12-1:30 pm pick up at the Stockbridge Grange Hall at 51 Church Street, Stockbridge. Orders may be made by calling 413-243-1298 or 413-443-4352.

Inclement weather postpones the meal for a week.