- Author: Claudia Carlos
- Author: Chutima Ganthavorn
- Contributor: Itzel Palacios-Sanchez
On the first Thursday of every month at the Community Settlement Association in Eastside Riverside, garden club members gather to participate in a monthly club meeting with CalFresh Healthy Living, UC's Nutrition Educator Itzel Palacios-Sanchez. Members shared that participating in the garden club has given them a community engagement opportunity to build new relationships and learn skills they take home to help educate their families.
On December 5, 2019, Itzel invited the Master Gardener Mike Horak to present on how to prune fruit trees. CSA has several fruit trees and some are not currently producing quality fruits. CSA garden club members had the opportunity to ask questions and get advice from the fruit tree expert. After Mike's engaging and informative presentation, CSA garden club members gained the knowledge and confidence to properly prune the fruit trees and protect their trees from diseases such as the Asian citrus psyllid.
Afterward, club members celebrated the holiday season with a family day potluck. Members brought food and shared their homemade dishes, including holiday favorites such as pozole, atole de guayaba, arroz con leche and buñuelos.
For 2020, CSA club members will continue to acquire garden skills to sustain their personal garden beds at CSA as they make new friends and volunteer in their local community garden. They hope to grow enough fresh produce to supplement the weekly food distribution at CSA.
- Author: Chutima Ganthavorn
On September 12, 2019, CalFresh Healthy Living at University of California (CFHL,UC) participated in the Healthy Snack Day, a Statewide Day of Action in California, to raise awareness about healthy snacking. California Department of Public Health provided resources and materials including origami snack finders, healthy snack recipe cards, and stickers that were popular with students. This year, CFHL,UC hosted Healthy Snack Day event at two locations: Wells Middle School in Alvord Unified and Desert Sands Unified School District Child Development Center in La Quinta.
At Wells Middle School, CFHL,UC team (Claudia Carlos and Nicole Ogosi) partnered with Raj Kaur from Dairy Council to provide string cheese and a healthy snack handout during all three lunch periods. Claudia and Nicole shared “The origami activity and stickers were so popular we ran out! We even had a cafeteria staff member stop by our table.” The CFHL,UC team taught a Plan, Shop, Save, & Cook class at Wells that morning, and the parents also participated in making the origami snack finder. They loved the hummus cooking demonstration and tasting with fresh vegetables featured on the "Crunchy" Healthy Snack Day recipe card. Parents went home with a variety of colorful, easy, healthy snack recipe cards to prepare for their children.
At the Child Development Center in La Quinta, CFHL,UC Educator, Jackie Barahona, talked about the importance of eating healthy and reviewed MyPlate with a class of 24 students. Students then began to make the recipe ‘Ants on a Log'. The children enjoyed making their own healthy snacks and choosing their toppings (blueberries, goldfish pretzels, cranberries, and raisins). Everyone, including the teacher and three aides, joined in and praised the children for eating healthy.
- Author: Chutima Ganthavorn
- Editor: Michele Byrnes
Summer is finally over and students at Loma Vista Middle School in Alvord Unified have returned to start a new school year. The student garden club held their first meeting on August 22, 2019. Regina Linton, the school garden teacher, was pleased to see over 50 students joining the club this year, including several students who returned from last year. Regina started the garden club in 2015 and obtained a grant to expand the garden following year. These efforts helped the school win the Gold Award twice from the Alliance for a Healthier Generation's National Healthy Schools Program. To keep the school garden club going, Regina relies on the help and support from CalFresh Healthy Living at University of California (CFHL,UC) and Master Gardener Program from University of California Cooperative Extension (UCCE).
On this hot afternoon, the students were excited to see several weed filled garden beds waiting to be cleaned up. UCCE Master Gardeners Debbra Corbin-Euston and Kim Coons-Leonard, CFHL,UC Educators Claudia Carlos and Itzel Palacios-Sanchez, and two interns from Loma Linda School of Public Health, Jennifer Tran and Sarah McAfee, were on hand to help supervise students. The two master gardeners taught students to differentiate weeds from the baby nasturtiums which are edible plants, and how to use tools for weeding. With so many hands, a lot of work was accomplished in just one hour. The garden beds soon were presentable and ready for the next step. The students will get to plant a winter crop later this month, and a couple of garden beds will be used to plant a cultural garden for Shaping Healthy Choices Program which is being implemented in Mrs. Hipp's class this year by CFHL,UC.
- Author: Chutima Ganthavorn
- Editor: Michele Byrnes
Parents of new and returning students at Arizona Middle School in Alvord Unified were greeted by University of California Cooperative Extension Master Gardener, Eva Mayer and CalFresh Healthy Living-UC Program Supervisor, Claudia Carlos during the back to school night on August 22, 2019. Eva and Claudia conducted a youth engagement garden project at this school last year and they are looking for students to continue expanding on this project. Prospective students and parents were invited to do a quick tour of the garden and sign up for the upcoming garden club meeting.
The garden has become the focal point for this school and the pride and joy for students and staff alike. Last year, the Library Assistant, Mary Beth Stevens donated a garden bench that provided a place for students, teachers and parents to sit in solitude and enjoy nature. Eva and her son Eli have also donated several items and worked hard to create the tranquil and inviting atmosphere to the garden. Eli Mayer graduated from this school many years ago and is happy to be back to take care of this garden. What a treat to see a couple of butterfly cocoons or chrysalis hanging on a branch and several butterflies flying around. Indeed, this is a garden that shows love and care. Thanks to Eva and Eli, and to Brittany Peacock, the school garden teacher and Principal Jeffrey Diulio for all their support! CalFresh Healthy Living-UC and local partners are transforming the school environment, one school at a time, to support healthy eating and healthy living.
- Author: Chutima Ganthavorn
Early in the morning of Saturday, July 13, 2019, it was already getting warm. The temperature had been in the 90's lately. But as Bryan Medina promised, six youth/young adults from Inland Empire Job Corps showed up with their supervisor, Calvin Pondexter. They were there at the Riverside Faith Temple in Eastside Riverside to help with the new garden start-up effort. Pastor Duane Sims has been working with the University of California Cooperative Extension teams (Master Gardeners and CalFresh Healthy Living, UC) in the past six months to convert the empty lot across from the church into a community garden.
On this day, Nicole Ogosi, a staff member from CalFresh Healthy Living, UC, brought orange infused water to show the best way to quench your thirst on a hot sunny day. The water tasted great! Job Corps youth spent three hours that morning to help remove dried weeds, rocks and debris. Everyone pitched in and together we generated over 40 bags of trash. UCCE Master Gardener, Thurman Howard, taught us the difference between soil and dirt (soil has nutrients and microorganisms; dirt does not) and the value of being patient with your land. It takes time to remove weeds and cultivate your soil. He said, “Don't be in a hurry. You want to have good soil to grow good crops.” I am glad I got to spend the morning with this group of young adults. We all had a good workout and did some good work! Thank you Inland Empire Job Corps!
