- Author: Elizabeth Lopez
UC CalFresh launched the new and improved Eating Smart, Being Active nutrition classes in Madera county. The first stop was Virginia Lee Rose Elementary! To reach parents, UC CalFresh partnered with the Parent Resource Center. Parent Resource Centers are found at seven elementary schools within Madera Unified School District. Their goal is to provide resources that will help parents with their children's education while also encouraging parents to become involved in their children's school.
With the help of Parent Resource Center staff, UC CalFresh was able to host a nutrition series for Virginia Lee Rose parents from March to April. Parents who participated, learned proper knife skills, how to make meals healthy and be physically active, and so much more!
While some had experience following a recipe, for others, this was their first time following a recipe and measuring out ingredients. The five parents who participated in the class series expressed that they enjoyed the experience and the information learned.
- Author: Angelica Perez
Mrs. Roxie Schallberg quickly acknowledged that implementing the Lowe's garden grant required more than just a vision. After Madison Elementary received the grant money, there were steps to take with the district, school and maintenance staff to make this vision come to life.
To begin the garden project, Angelica Perez, UC CalFresh coordinator, supported Mrs. Roxie Schallberger in applying for the grant. Once the grant was awarded she was able to guide her in scheduling a meeting to help her in the initial steps to begin the grant implementation. In the meeting was Madison Principal Mercedes Ochoa, and Curtis Manganaan, Director of Maintenance and Operations for the district. They both played a key role in helping to identify barriers and solutions and how to bring together a new garden at the school site. As the meeting ended, all the information and next steps where identified and the garden vision was soon becoming a reality.
The garden beds were recommended to be built by Ripperdan Community Day School in Madera, CA. Students in Mr. Scanlan's wood shop class were tasked with building the wooden garden beds and benches for Madison. Maintenance staff are also much appreciated for the design of the garden location, leveling the ground, fencing off the area and in making the garden area nice and easy to use. Finally, the “We Believe in Healthy Living" Madison Mavericks garden sign came in after the beds and benches were in place. The garden is now ready to be fully used. Although the original plan for the Madison garden took a turn in the beginning planning changes, the new location and design was even better than the original plan.
The We Believe in Healthy Living Garden at Madison Elementary was a big team effort that created impactful connections with Mrs. Schallberger, Madison Staff, UC CalFresh Nutrition Education Program, Lowe's, Ripperdan Community Day School and the school district and maintenance staff. All of these collaborations and contributions make the Madison Mavericks We Believe in Healthy Living garden project even more special. The school looks forward to its official garden opening day next year and will plan to have lessons in the garden for all grade levels that wish to participate. Below are some pictures detailng the progress of the garden.
- Author: Angelica Perez
As the lessons continued, the student groups were assigned a country and an artwork project that gathered different information about their country. This information included the agriculture practices, food that was grown and sold and even some cultural dishes. The students had fun creating their country's artwork.
The groups did a wonderful job in representing their respective countries and also showed how creative they are!
