Fresno County's UC CalFresh Nutrition Education Program has a long standing partnership with the Fresno State Dietetic Internship Program. This blog post is part of our Intern Reflections Series.

Having a rotation with UC CalFresh has been a great learning opportunity, and it all starts with the amazing students that are being taught about proper nutrition. It is evident that the students are excited when the UC CalFresh Nutrition Educators are there to teach them about nutrition. I was also so amazed when I went into the classrooms to see that the students knew about MyPlate and could name the foods that went into each category. I could already see the benefits of early nutrition education and I think the food tastings provided to the students is a magnificent enhancement to the nutrition education because many of the children may have never tasted the foods that have been provided for them to taste. It is great to see that they are getting that exposure and that the students actually like the healthy foods that they are trying for the first time.

I had the privilege of teaching some of the lessons to the students, which was so much fun! For the younger students, I read Green Eggs and Ham to show them that trying new foods and protein is important because they never know whether or not they will like a food they have never tried before.  One of the other main lessons that I taught was about plant and animal proteins, and I was amazed at how fast the students picked up this concept. The one food item that always threw them for a loop was tofu. When I would show the picture of the tofu to the students they always thought it was cheese. This created a great opportunity to talk about where tofu comes from and what recipes typically include tofu. This was also a great lesson to talk about keeping their muscles healthy and strong. It was a great experience and I can see that it makes a real difference in these children's lives. Another great lesson that I was a part of was teaching about physical activity. The students were very excited and did a great job participating in all the exercises. It was great to see them so excited about moving around and being active.

I also had the opportunity to attend some of the adult classes and help teach the adult participants as well. This was a great way to see that no matter what age you are, nutrition education and knowledge is relevant. It was also great because even though they are adult classes, the adults can pass on the knowledge they learn to their children. During one of the classes, I was able to teach and explain the BMI table that can be used to assess one's own health. This was a great experience for me to make sure that I can communicate the information well so that the audience has a complete understanding. I also love the fact that these adult nutrition classes also include a recipe demonstration. This portion of the lesson provides easy recipes to cook at home along with the nutrition of the food that's being prepared.

Overall, I enjoyed being a part of this program and helping to improve the nutrition knowledge of the Fresno community. I was able to work with several of the nutrition educators and coordinators and I can say, with confidence, that they do an amazing job teaching and working with the children and adults in the community. This is a really great nutrition education program!

From November to January, child- friendly MyPlate's were given to each Preschool, Transitional Kindergarten (TK), and Kindergarten class enrolled in the UC CalFresh Nutrition Education Program to place in their dramatic play area and use in their classrooms. In the dramatic play area there is usually a kitchen set up with plastic foods and items for dress up and dramatization. 

MyPlate in use in Mrs. Tinoco's Pre-K classroom at Calwa Elementary

It's inevitable, growing kids are going to snack. Snacking can help kids maintain their energy, provide fuel for school activities and fill nutrition gaps in their diets. Encourage your child to develop healthy eating habits early on by setting an example in your home. Your child can't reach for cookies, chips or candy bars if you don't have them on hand. Model healthy eating by choosing nutritious snacks for yourself, too!

For more snack ideas and tips, visit choosemyplate.gov!

Fresno County's UC CalFresh Nutrition Education Program has a long standing partnership with the Fresno State Dietetic Internship Program. This blog post is part of our Intern Reflections Series.

I began this rotation not really knowing what to expect, or what was in store for me. I remember meeting Brittanny and Shawna at our internship orientation where we learned a little about the UC Cooperative Extension, reviewed My Plate, and played a really fun and physically active version of nutrition jeopardy. I was excited to see the application of similar lessons in a classroom setting in order to learn more about all that they do at the UC Cooperative Extension.

My first day was at Kratt Elementary where I was able to see different types of nutrition activities that are done with grades pre-school through 2^nd grade. We started at the pre-school level and went around to the different classes where we did a MyPlate review and then a nutrition lesson with the kids. I observed the first few and then took a turn doing the MyPlate review. I was feeling kind of nervous, but it was fun seeing the kids' reactions. I really enjoyed observing the way that my preceptor, Shawna Rogers, interacted with the kids. She had all of their attention and was very engaging. It was a neat experience, and I feel like I learned a lot from observing her teaching style. I really like how she used hand motions for all the food groups on MyPlate to help the kids remember and to allow them to participate. I learned a lot about how to talk to kids and what types of things they respond well to. They LOVE to be asked questions AND to take turns, so activities were huge! As dietetic interns, we work mostly with adults, so this rotation was extremely beneficial to get a chance to observe and experience working with kids.

I was very fortunate to attend Farm and Nutrition Day at the Fresno County Fairgrounds. It was my first time visiting the fairgrounds and my first time attending a farm and nutrition day, so it was a memorable experience! The event consisted of 3^rd grade classes from Fresno County schools coming on buses to the fairgrounds to interact and learn from different exhibits teaching about farming, agriculture, and nutrition. It is a really neat concept, and I think they should offer events like this in more areas. I had the unique opportunity to become an orange for the day (yes, an orange), and be part of the UC CalFresh “Healthy Crew.” As a member of the “Healthy Crew,” I was able to participate in 4 showings of a nutrition play focused on "sometimes" foods versus "anytime" foods, and practice demonstrating the MyPlate food groups during each performance. Dressed as Miss Orange, I became a celebrity for the day and even signed my first autograph! The kids loved the play and loved our costumes even more. I had no idea what was in store for my on Farm and Nutrition Day, but it ended up being a lot of fun and I hope I have the chance to attend again in the future.

During this rotation I also learned about different adult classes that are taught by the UC CalFresh Nutrition Education Program. I attended several classes taught for the Jobs and Beyond Program, where participants learned about reading labels, meal planning, calories and sugar in sweetened beverages, physical activity, BMI, daily calorie requirements and much more! Each lesson was accompanied by a tasty and simple food demonstration that included a sample and a recipe to take home. This is a really fun way to teach new ideas for healthy eating, and it increased participation in the class. It was very educational learning from each presenter's teaching style and classroom dynamic. They all had great real world examples and easy to understand ways of explaining things that engaged the class and provoked discussion. Teaching is definitely an area that I need to gain more experience, so this rotation was really helpful to break me out of my comfort zone and allow me to experience working with a variety of age groups. In my down time I was able to help with some game development for kids, assemble tasting bags for youth food tastings, and enter important data for the UC CalFresh Food Tasting Tool and the EFNEP program. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed my time visiting classrooms, providing adult education, attending off-site events and meetings, and assisting with food tastings and data entry. The UC Cooperative Extension is a busy place with many efforts to encourage healthy eating through nutrition education for all ages.