- 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: Maira Enriquez
May 2, 2015-Champions for Change & Fresno Community Market hosted their annual Fruit and Veggie Fest in downtown Fresno. They put together healthy food demonstrations, free health screenings, fun activities for kids, raffle prizes and a ribbon cutting of the smarter snacking station at a local retail store. This is an annual event that occurs throughout the entire state through the department of Public Health.
This year UC Cooperative Extension of Fresno partnered and helped distribute a coloring contest through Lowell Elementary. Nutrition Program Coordinator, Maira Enriquez, distributed coloring contest fliers and had over 80 student participants. Five winners were chosen from each grade level, ranging from preschool to fifth grade.
Partnerships such as this support healthier communities in Fresno County!
- Author: Maira Enriquez
Mrs. Leyva, a kindergarten teacher at Lowell Elementary, demonstrates a creative activity she made with her class using the five essential food groups of MyPlate.
Mrs. Levya's activity will help students associate each food group to a different finger on their hand. Great job Mrs. Leyva! Your hard work and dedication to helping kids learn the importance of nutrition will help expand their knowledge and commitment to a healthy lifestyle!
- Author: Shelby MacNab
UC CalFresh recently had the opportunity to partner with Off the Front and Kaiser Permanente at Lowell Elementary School for an evening discussing health and wellness with families in the neighborhood.
Parents and children were invited to a screening of the film The Weight of the Nation. Following the screening, a dinner was provided by Fresno Unified Food Service. In response to the film, families had the opportunity to dialogue about the assets and barriers to wellness in their community.
UC CalFresh provided information about no-cost nutrition education classes available to families at Lowell.
Feedback from families was outstanding!
Here are some of the highlights from the brainstorming sessions:
Community assets:
- Wednesday Farmer's Market
- Saturday Sports
- Public Pools
- Basketball courts, soccer fields
Areas that hinder healthy lifestyles:
- Parks are not safe
- Not enough lighting
- Gang violence
- Stores are small: higher prices, need accessible groceries
Biggest take away:
- Learning how important exercise is
- Importance of children's nutrition
- Change eating habits; remember what it takes to burn off food
UC CalFresh is thrilled to support partnerships that empower and equip families to make healthy changes! Working together we can transform our community!
For more information about Off the Front, visit their website by clicking here.
