Eligible participants that graduate from the Eating Smart, Being Active adult nutrition education class series with the UC CalFresh Nutrition Education Program receive a reusable tote bag. These reusable tote bags are very convenient to use, but can they cause illness? 

Image Source: eatright.org

These tips from Home Food Safety can reduce your risk of food borne illness from your reusable tote bags: 

1. Wash your grocery tote frequently in the washing machine or by hand with hot, soapy water.

2. When shopping, put meat, poultry and fish in separate plastic bags before placing in the tote. This will help prevent juices from leaking and contaminating your reusable bags and food.

3. Place fresh or frozen raw meat, poultry and fish in separate totes from produce and ready-to-eat foods.

4. Clean all areas where you place your totes, such as kitchen counter or table, to reduce cross contamination.

5. Store totes in a clean, dry location. Avoid leaving totes in the trunk of a vehicle.

For more tips to reduce your risk of food borne illness, visit www.homefoodsafety.org

Adults at any age need at least 150 minutes of physical activity each week, which comes out to about 30 minutes, five days a week. Physical activity has different benefits. Walking, for example, can give us energy, help us relax, reduce stress, help us sleep better, tone our muscles, and help us control our appetites. If we have a chronic condition, physical activity can help to improve our health and reduce the risk of developing other conditions. As we age, our balance, flexibility and strength is not as it was in our younger years. Simple, everyday activities, such as opening a water bottle or holding a spoon to eat, can become a hassle. Being active can help us perform our everyday activities with more ease.

Try out the exercises from Go4Life below to improve your balance, flexibility and strength, no matter your age.

 

 

For more exercises, check out Go4Life from the National Institute of Aging. 

Do you find shopping at a Farmers Market too intimidating? Need help getting started?

Have no fear!  

UC CalFresh and Pete, the MyPlate Superhero, will help you get started!

 Why shop at a Farmers Market?

Farmers Markets support our farmers and our local economy while increasing our access to fresh, nutritious, and locally grown fruits and vegetables!

 How can I stretch my food-buying dollars when shopping at a local Farmers Market?

~~ Market Match ~~

 Market Match is California's healthy food incentive program that will match your CalFresh dollars up to $10 when you purchase fruits and vegetables! That means your $10 CalFresh EBT budget, for fruits and vegetables, can double up to $20. That's more money for delicious and nutritious fruits and vegetables!

Look for the Market Match tent at select Farmers Markets to get started!

Want to buy non-fruit and non-vegetable products using your CalFresh EBT card? No problem! Select Farmers Markets will also allow you to use your CalFresh EBT and WIC benefits to buy food. Click here to find a Market near you and find out what Market Match incentives they offer! 

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Pete, the MyPlate Superhero, is happy to hear that Californians can make healthy choices at Farmers Markets near them. Let's follow Pete as he navigates his first Farmers Market: The Market on Kern.

Pete can't help but be excited. Just look as he takes flight!

Pete's first stop is the Market Match tent. He wants to make the most out of his food dollars. Shopping smart is how Pete likes to roll.

It looks like kale has caught Pete's attention. Kale is an excellent source of Vitamin A and C, and a good source of calcium and dietary fiber.

Is there anything better than ripe fruits? Pete suggests having a sweet and juicy fruit as a snack or dessert! Yum!

Pete knows tomatoes can be confusing: are they a fruit or a vegetable? Pete notes that they are a vegetable on MyPlate, and so good for you! Try adding this delicious vegetable in your everyday meals and let us know how it goes. Pete would love to hear all about it!

Pete loves to share his knowledge about MyPlate. Pete reminds Nutrition Coordinator, Evelyn Morales, about the importance of making fruits and vegetables half your plate!

Come visit the Market on Kern, open every Wednesday, 9am to 2pm, now through October.

Summer is a great time to explore your local Farmers Market. Who knows, you may run into Pete!

Visit the Ecology Center for a Farmers Market near you.

Happy Shopping!

-Pete, the MyPlate Superhero

What does it mean to be healthy?

This was the question asked of 120 incoming high school freshmen attending the Summer Bridge Program* for Bullard High in Fresno, California. 

In the first of the two sessions, students received EatFit workbooks and learned about setting goals and how to take steps to achieve their goals. Students were able to practice goal setting and develop major and minor fitness goals. In the second session, students were split up into groups and visited multiple stations, each pertaining to different nutrition topics. Stations exposed students to label reading with grains, protein, and sugar-based drinks.

At the final station, we sat down with students and asked them to respond to the following questions: 

Is being healthy important to you?  

Out of the 90 responses we received, 80 students (89%) responded, "Yes," it was important for them and 10 students (11%) responded, "No," it was not important to them. 

We also asked: What does it mean to be healthy? 

Being Healthy: 41%

"Being healthy means eating the right foods and getting good exercise." 

This was the most common response from the students. Answers from this category consisted of students making better food choices, eating less junk food, being active, living a long, happy life and having a well-balanced life. Students also mentioned aspirations to travel and meet career goals as motivation to be healthy. 

Playing Sports: 18%

"To play sports such as soccer, football, track, and cross country."

This group was made up of students who said being healthy meant doing well in sports and being physically fit. Most mentioned sports they currently play or sports teams they hope to be a part of in high school. 

It's not important to be healthy: 11%

"Being healthy at an old age is important, but at a young age not necessarily."

Most of the students in this group answered by generally saying they didn't care about being healthy or that they felt it wasn't important to worry about being healthy right now. In one response, a student mentioned that it was important to take care of your body, but not until old age.

Disease: 11%

"[So] you don't end up in the hospital sooner."

These students made a connection between being healthy and getting sick or developing a disease. Students talked about wanting to live a healthy life and not wanting to end up in the hospital. The most common diseases mentioned by students included high blood pressure, diabetes, and cancer. 

Weight: 10%

"Being healthy is having a good body."

Ten percent of students mentioned weight status and fat in relation to being healthy. Most responses included students making a weight loss goal or wanting to lose weight. 

Family: 9%

"If I am healthy, I get to live longer and spend more time with my family"

Students also mentioned their family and their families' health as the definition of being healthy. Some students mentioned helping their family make healthy choices while others talked about not wanting their family to get sick. 

What does this information tell us as nutrition educators?

In this small sample, most incoming freshmen were able to say,"yes, being healthy is important," along with a reason why it was important to them. So what does that information mean to us as nutrition educator's? It actually leads to another question: what can we do to help high school students reach their goals for healthy living? Perhaps this is the first of many conversations we need to have with students in this age group. This is also good information for Fresno Unified School District and the UC CalFresh Nutrition Education Program as we embark on our second year of implementing the Smarter Lunchrooms Movement district wide. In the fall we will be diving into high school campuses and cafeterias. How can we provide the best information and resources to help students reach their goals to live healthy lives? Personally speaking, I'm excited to head into the uncharted waters of  the high school campuses for the Smarter Lunchrooms Movement. This can be an opportunity where our UC CalFresh team can impact students and the way they think about health.

What do you think it means to be healthy? Let us know in the comment section below. 

*The Summer Bridge program provides resources for students who could benefit from additional support in the transition from middle school to high school. The UC CalFresh Nutrition Education Program worked with Bullard High counselors to teach lessons from the EatFit curriculum to students attending the summer session.