- Author: Chelsey LeeAnn Slattery
The University of California Cooperative Extension (UCCE) was chosen to receive CHIP's 2018 Outstanding Partner Award which was presented to the team on Thursday, February 7, 2019 at CHIP's 45th Anniversary celebration in Chico, CA. CHIP's Resident Services Coordinator, Washington Quezeda, presented this award to the following individuals from UCCE Butte County; Jona Pressman, UC CalFresh and Expanded Food and Nutrition Program Manager, Sonia Rodriguez, EFNEP Community Education Specialist, Suzie Lawry-Hall, UC CalFresh Program Supervisor, and Rita Palmer, UC CalFresh Community Education Specialist.
From left to right: Suzie Lawry Hall, Jona Pressman, Washington Quezeda, Sonia Rodriguez, Rita Palmer
From left to right: Rita Palmer, Sonia Rodriguez, Jona Pressman
The Partnership: CHIP Youth Summer School Program
In 2018, UC CalFresh partnered with CHIP to design and implement a comprehensive youth educational summer camp in the counties of Butte, Sutter, Yuba and Glenn. The program was made up of 85 participants (72 youth campers and 13 adult resident camp counselors) at 8 public housing sites which participated in an 8-week Youth Summer Camp School Program.
For two decades CHIP has partnered with UC CalFresh and EFNEP to meet the educational and enrichment needs of youth, adults, and families residing in various CHIP Public Housing sites. CHIP assists low-income and rural disadvantaged residents, seniors and others who may lack the financial resources and/or knowledge to provide adequately for their household. This year, CHIP partnered with UC CalFresh to coordinate and implement CHIP's first comprehensive Youth Summer School Program. CHIP was awarded with a grant to host a youth summer intervention to provide youth the opportunity to maintain their academics and activity levels during summer break. The CHIP Youth Summer School Program (CHIP-YSSP) used a combination of Healthalicious and the CATCH curricula at 8 sites in 4 counties reaching 72 youth. Math and reading standards were met through weekly lesson including cooking activities from the Healthalicious curriculum. Students actively participated in weekly CATCH activities which were led by the resident camp counselors. To enrich the summer camp experience, UC CalFresh offered various 4-H kits to participating sites as an additional resource that could be utilized as part of their summer school program.
Many factors were taken into consideration when designing the CHIP-YSSP. The extender model and the adult-youth mentorship model from UCCE's 4-H Youth Development Program were utilized. UC CalFresh and CHIP recruited resident Camp Counselors to co-facilitate the weekly lessons and recruit youth campers. The program was implemented for 8 consecutive weeks and food was funded through the grant award. The food budget allowed for meals to be offered to participating youth and adults, and also provided the opportunity for residents and families to join their children for lunch or take the food home to their families for a meal later that day. In a retrospective self-reporting survey, CHIP housing managers reported that they either agreed or strongly agreed that as a result of participating in the CHIP-YSSP, they gained new skills and they now feel more confident in delivering the program. In addition, the housing managers reported an increased interest in volunteering more in their community. CHIP also decided to enroll two of their housing communities in the 4-H Robotics Program which offers hands-on activities for youth to learn how to build robots, computer programming, engineering and math.
CHIP Youth Summer School Program Testimonials:
1) “The best part would be the look and excitement of the kids each day that they came to camp. Just walking into camp hey all had smiles of gold!” Rancho De Soto, Glenn County
2) “The summer program has taught me how to communicate better with children. I do little things with them in the weekends”- Shotover and LaPalmas, Glenn County
3) “I felt closer to the children in my community”- La Viste Verde, Butte County
4) “I thought working with a youth would be harder, but I enjoyed it-” East of Eaton, Butte County
- Author: Chelsey LeeAnn Slattery
- Author: Sonia C. Rodriguez
BEFORE AFTER
The Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP) in the Butte Cluster would like to recognize
Johana (pictured above), not only for her significant weightloss, but also for her personal effort in preventing chronic disease, and using her success story to promote EFNEP in the low-income rural community of Olivehurst, CA. Johana's commitment to participating in EFNEP has been both rewarding and lifesaving. Johana is a young mother with 4 children, residing in a low-income rural community. When Johana started participating in EFNEP at Cedar Lane Elementary, she was eager to learn and to participate. In fact, Johanna's enthusiasm for the program was so great that she took it upon herself to begin promoting EFNEP to her family, neighbors, friends, and members of her church. She also played an instrumental role in keeping her peers motivated and holding them accountable during the EFNEP lesson series that she participated in.
After the 3rd lesson, Johana had many questions regarding her physical appearance and eating habits. She remembered when EFNEP Educator Sonia Rodriguez used the phrase, “check with your doctor”, so she did. It was at that time that Dr. Francisco Martinez diagnosed her with early stage fatty liver and prescribed medication right away. However, Johana did not believe in taking medication, so she mentioned to the doctor that she was attending a nutrition class with UCCE. It was at this time Johana knew that she had had make some changes. Her medical insurance was expiring, and she knew she wouldn't be able to retain it due to the high cost.
Johana decided to change her eating habits and start walking with her family 5 days a week with the hope that she would not have to use medication. She also cleaned out her food pantry, started making food substitutions, and started being physically active. In addition, she eliminated soda, began drinking more water, replaced white breads with whole grains, started organizing her grocery shopping using a list, and began eating smaller portions.
Quotes:
1) “I was 220 lbs., never exercised, nor controlled my diet and because of the changes I made coming to EFNEP, using Walk Indoors CD, I now weigh 166 lbs., and my liver is normal according to Dr. Martinez." - Johana
2) “I enjoy every class and will continue attending every session and telling everyone in my family, friends and neighbors about my story.” - Johana
- Author: Chelsey LeeAnn Slattery
- Author: Chelsey LeeAnn Slattery
This week I was asked by the local newspaper to provide some tips on what to eat/drink when sick. With flu and cold season if full swing, many might be wondering what items to consume when feeling a bit under the weather. Below you will find a list of five items to consider consuming to help fight off those nasty cold and flu symptoms.
WARM BROTH
Vegetable, beef and chicken broths can be excellent sources of hydration while you're sick and the hot steam can also act as a natural decongestant.
GARLIC
Garlic provides numerous health benefits and has been used as a medicinal herb for centuries. Garlic has also demonstrated antibacterial, antiviral and anti-fungal effects. TO learn more about the benefits of consuming garlic, CLICK HERE.
COCONUT WATER
Staying well-hydrated is extremely important and one of the most important things you can do when sick. Not only is coconut water flavorful, it also contains glucose and the electrolytes needed for re-hydration. To learn more about the benefits of consuming coconut water, CLICK HERE.
HONEY
Honey has potent antibacterial effects and has also been shown to stimulate the immune system. To learn more about the benefits of consuming honey, CLICK HERE.
HOT TEA
Tea is a favorite remedy for many symptoms that are associated with colds and the flu. Just like warm broth, tea acts as a natural decongestant because of the hot steam and can help clear the sinuses of mucous. To learn more about the benefits of consuming hot tea, CLICK HERE.
LOOKING FOR A WARM BROTH BASED SOUP TO CONSUME ON A CHILLY DAY? TRY SOME PHO! SEE THE RECIPE BELOW!
PHO RECIPE
INGREDIENTS
- 8 ounces dried rice noodles
- 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
- 1-pound boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into 1-inch chunks
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
- 6 cups chicken stock
- 2 tablespoon hoisin sauce
- 1 tablespoons fish sauce
GARNISH
- 1 onion, thinly sliced
- 2 cups bean sprouts
- 1/2 cup fresh cilantro leaves
- 1/2 cup fresh mint leaves
- 1 jalapeno, thinly sliced
- 2 limes, halved
DIRECTIONS
- In a large pot of water, cook rice noodles according to package instructions; drain well and set aside.
- Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large stockpot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Season chicken with salt and pepper, to taste. Add chicken to the stockpot and cook until golden, about 2-3 minutes; set aside.
- Add remaining 1 tablespoon oil to the stockpot. Add garlic and ginger, and cook, stirring frequently, until fragrant, about 1-2 minutes.
- Whisk in chicken stock, hoisin sauce and fish sauce. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes.
- Serve immediately with rice noodles and chicken, garnished with onion, bean sprouts, cilantro, mint, jalapeno and limes, if desired.
- Author: Chelsey LeeAnn Slattery
Looking for fun ways to introduce and reinforce nutrition and gardening concepts? This might be just what you've been looking for! That's right, bracelets! Read below to learn how you can use bracelets to reinforce concepts learned in lessons that focus on healthy eating and gardening.
Activity #1 Plants Needs Bracelet
When teaching garden lessons from curricula such as Twigs, Nutrition to Grow On, and Discovering Healthy Choices, you can use Activity #1 to reinforce concepts that are related to plant needs.
Materials Needed
- Elastic
- Beads - Blue, Brown, Yellow, White
- Scissors
Bead Symbolization
- The blue bead will represent water.
- The brown bead will represent soil.
- The yellow bead will represent sun.
- The white bead will represent oxygen.
- The left over space on the bracelet or key chain will represent the space that plants need to grow.
Instructions
- Explain that we will be making bracelets to reinforce the concepts of the lesson.
- Each bracelet or key chain will have four bead which will represent the things that plants need to grow.
- Cut elastic into approximately 5 inch pieces (1 per student).
- Provide each student with 4 beads (1 of each color).
- Provide each student a piece of elastic.
- Have students thread the beads onto the elastic.
- Assist students/participants in tying the elastic around their wrist.
- Cut off any access elastic after tying the bracelet off.
- Reinforce the symbolization of each bead color by asking the student what each color represents.
Activity #2 MyPlate Bracelet
When teaching a garden lesson from curricula such as Serving Up MyPlate, Happy Healthy Me, My Amazing Body, Eating Healthy From Farm to Fork, and Discovering Healthy Choices, you can use Activity #2 to reinforce concepts related to MyPlate and the five food groups.
Materials Needed
- Elastic
- Beads - Blue, Red, Orange, Green, Purple
- Scissors
Bead Symbolization
- The blue bead will represent the dairy group on MyPlate.
- The red bead will represent the fruit group on MyPlate.
- The orange bead will represent the grains group on MyPlate.
- The green bead will represent the vegetable group on MyPlate.
- The purple bead will represent the protein group on MyPlate.
Instructions
- Cut elastic into approximately 5 inch pieces (1 per student).
- Provide each student with 5 beads (1 of each color).
- Provide each student a piece of elastic.
- Have students thread the beads onto the elastic.
- Assist students/participants in tying the elastic around their wrist.
- Cut off any access elastic after tying the bracelet off.
- Reinforce to symbolization of each bead color by asking the student what each color represents.
We hope you all enjoy this activity as much as we do in the Butte Cluster. We look forward to hearing about your experience with incorporating this activity as an extension to you nutrition and gardening lessons.
