- Author: Nancy Zumkeller
- Editor: Emily Harris
September 15th was a busy evening on the Lowell Elementary School campus. Over 100 members of the Lowell community gathered in the cafeteria for a healthy dinner, raffle prizes and most importantly, information on how to take steps towards living a healthier and more active lifestyle.
UC CalFresh staff Christopher DeLeon, Austin Cantrell and Consuelo Cid are ready to share healthy tips with the Lowell community.
Community agencies such as Cultiva La Salud, Fresno County Public Health Department and the City of Fresno joined UC CalFresh to share information, ranging from fruit and vegetable consumption to who to contact for safety concerns in the community.
A collaborative effort between many agencies working to build a healthier Lowell community.
This gathering allowed neighbors to gather in order to establish a sense of community. The students at Lowell Elementary will eventually feed into nearby Roosevelt High School. Over 20 Roosevelt seniors from the Health Academy Pathway program were on campus to volunteer at the event. Their duties included set up, registration, greeting those in attendance, child care assistance, and dressing as a fruit or vegetable! Many of these students attended Lowell Elementary School and enjoyed giving back to the community.
Consuelo Cid and Pete the MyPlate Superhero are ready to talk about healthy habits!
This no-cost event was a wonderful example of what can happen when community agencies collaborate and work towards a common goal of building a healthier community in Fresno.
- Author: Nancy Zumkeller
- Editor: Emily Harris
Many people view summertime as a lazy, relaxing time of year, but not the 25 senior citizens at Fresno's Lafayette Community Center and Pinedale Community Center. These seniors spent their summer learning about maintaining a healthy lifestyle by including more fruits and vegetables in their daily diet.
Nutrition Educator, Consuelo Cid, teaching seniors at Lafayette Community Center how fruits and vegetables contain many vitamins and minerals our bodies need daily.
The UC CalFresh Nutrition Education program collaborated with Fresno's Parks and Recreation Department to offer senior citizens in the Fresno community no-cost, nutrition education classes over a 5-week period. The Eat Smart, Live Strong curriculum gave seniors tips on how to include more fruits and vegetables in their diet and how to save money while still eating healthy foods. Seniors were also able to taste quick, inexpensive and healthy recipes prepared by the UC CalFresh staff every week during the series.
Nutrition Educator, Consuelo Cid, demonstrating how to cool down after doing any physical activity with seniors at Lafayette Community Center.
The seniors at both community centers also learned about physical activity because it is an integral part of a healthy lifestyle. Everyone participated in learning four new exercises at each class session along with the proper way to warm up and cool down when exercising. Participants graduated after the 5-week session with a certificate of completion from the University of California and nutrition education reinforcement items to remind them to continue on their journey towards a healthy lifestyle. These items included reusable shopping bags, cookbooks, reusable water bottles and fruit and vegetable scrub brushes. The seniors expressed how informational and fun these classes were for them, and promised to continue eating fruits and vegetables every day and participating in at least 30 minutes of physical activity most days of the week.
Nutrition Program Coordinator, Kristi Schultz-Sharp, with the Eat Smart, Live Strong graduates at Pinedale Community Center.
- Author: Angelica Perez
- Editor: Emily Harris
Parents at Jefferson Elementary School were thrilled to begin the Plan, Shop, Save and Cook Series. They were excited to learn about ways the class could help them save money when it comes to healthy cooking at home and also learn ways to plan healthy meals. Many activities were included during the lessons, which allowed them to apply the skills they learned. One activity had the parents first create a meal plan and then plan their shopping lists. This activity allowed them to see the food groups they were eating plenty of, and which other food groups were being left out.
Jefferson parents planning their families' meals for the week and creating their shopping lists.
As the lessons continued throughout the weeks, many of the parents were eager to share their success in balancing all of the food groups on MyPlate to ensure balanced diets. Others shared their new found awareness of store flyer sale items, which included seasonal fruits and vegetables. Many parents also learned how low their whole grain consumption was, and began incorporating more whole grains into their meals. A couple of the parents even shared that they made our enchilada casserole at home and their families loved it, not knowing that they were eating whole grain brown rice!
Nutrition Educators, Araceli and Angelica, with some of the parents from the class who received their certificate of graduation from the Plan, Shop, Save and Cook Series.
Overall the class was very successful and we had 7 parents graduate the Plan, Shop, Save and Cook Series. Many parents appreciated learning nutrition information provided during the class by mentioning how useful it was for them to ensure that they make everyday, healthy eating a positive and simple, one step at a time, change. They know that these changes will make an extreme difference in their overall health and the health of their families.
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Interested in bringing an adult nutrition education class to a school or community center near you? Contact our Adult Nutrition Program Supervisor, Javier Miramontes, at 241-7531 or jfmiramontes@ucanr.edu for more information.
- Author: Tacu Vang
- Editor: Emily Harris
On August 2nd, 2016, UC CalFresh was invited by the Housing Authority of Madera to participate in their National Night Out event. National Night Out is an annual event that is celebrated on the first Tuesday of August. Neighboring communities work together with law enforcement to create a culture of partnership for safer communities. UC CalFresh presented the workshop, "Milk is For Me," while the Housing Authority of Madera passed out books to children in the communities. National Night Out occurred at three different neighboring communities: the Malone Apartments, the Knox Apartments, and the Kennedy Apartments. UC CalFresh spent a total of 45 minutes at each site, which was a new, mobile approach that the team has not tried before.
Nutrition Educators, Angelica Perez and Maira Enriquez, work together to educate community residents.
All of the great books that were given out to the neighboring communities.
The UC CalFresh team working hard throughout the evening.
All in all, there was a great turn out for National Night Out in Madera, and the community loved the nutrition information and books they received. It was wonderful to see the residents partner with local law enforcement on a hot day to promote this event. The UC CalFresh team met many great people and hopes to be apart of this event next year.
- Author: Consuelo Cid
- Contributor: Evelyn Morales
- Editor: Emily Harris
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
