After attending UCCE Kern County training, CAPSLO early childhood educators increase structured physical activity for 195 children enrolled in their seasonal migrant head start program using the CATCH ECE curriculum.

The Issue

According to KidsData.org, almost 74% of Kern County adults are either overweight or obese. Furthermore, 2018 data from Department of Education Physical Fitness tests indicated that Kern fifth graders overweight or obese rates at 44.9%, were 5% higher than the state average. Also, the food insecurity rate at 23.8%, is higher than California's state average rate of 18%. Childhood obesity has both immediate and long-term serious health impacts, as children who are obese are more likely to have risk factors for heart disease and diabetes, including high blood pressure, cholesterol, and blood sugar.

Community Action Partnership of San Luis Obispo (CAPSLO) has five migrant head start centers in Kern County: Milagro Migrant Head Start, Las Mariposas Head Start, Las Rosas Migrant Head Start, Glenwood Migrant Head Start, and Buena Vista Migrant Head Start. The agency provides early education and childcare for migrant families in the Arvin, Lamont/Weedpatch, Wasco, and Delano communities. The seasonal migrant program provides no-cost childcare and preschool services to low-income families whose primary occupation is agricultural production or harvesting.

How UC Delivers

To promote healthy lifestyles, CAPSLO collaborated with UCCE Kern County Nutrition Education program to implement the Coordinated Approach to Child Health Early Childhood Education (CATCH ECE). UCCE Kern Nutrition staff provided teachers with a 4-hour CATCH ECE training and technical assistance twice per month for 14 months. CATCH ECE provided children the opportunity to develop locomotor, non-locomotor, and manipulative skills through games and activities. Children had the opportunity to be more physically active during school sessions. Teachers incorporated CATCH ECE in their daily curriculum at Head Start Centers 3-5 days per week for 30 minutes.

CATCH Training CAPSLO Staff

 
The Impact

As a result of the CATCH ECE partnership and implementation, 12 teacher extenders trained to implement the CATCH curriculum, adopted what they learned and delivered 83.75 hours of physical activity programming to young children at CAPSLO's centers. From August 2018 to September 2019, students received these 83.75 hours of structured physical activity using the CATCH ECE curriculum. A total of 195 students increased structured physical activity 3-5 times per week compared to their initial 2-3 times. According to the Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans (2018), regular moderate-to-vigorous physical activity reduces the risk of many chronic diseases among children and adults. By motivating participants to adopt healthier lifestyle practices, UCCE Kern helped to create healthier families and communities.

http://cekern.ucanr.edu/Custom_Program804/

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EFNEP delivered food safety lessons to over 4,000 participants last year, with nearly 2,500 reporting improvements in food safety knowledge and practices. EFNEP's work contributes to UC ANR's public value of safeguarding sufficient, safe, and healthy food for all Californians.

The Issue

The foodborne illness burden in the U.S. is estimated at 48 million cases, 128,000 hospitalizations, and 3000 deaths each year (CDC.gov). This burden will likely increase during the coronavirus pandemic since more families are now cooking and preparing meals at home. With limited consumer knowledge about food safety, the likelihood of foodborne illness increases. Moreover, today's consumers often rely on the internet for health information. Studies have found inaccurate food safety advices on TV cooking shows and recipe blogs. A recent study reveals misinformation abounds on social media and internet question and answer websites.

How UC Delivers

Food safety is one of the four core areas of the Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP). California EFNEP, a statewide program of UC ANR, teaches food safety and safe food handling practices as part of the nine-lesson nutrition series for limited-resource families in 19 counties. Adult participants, mostly those responsible for preparing meals for the family, learn reliable food safety information based on research such as food safety basics, the four core practices to prevent foodborne illness, safe minimum cooking temperature, and proper storage of leftovers. In addition to teaching concepts, EFNEP educators demonstrate proper handwashing and other safe food handling practices during recipe demonstration. Youth participants in lower grades (K-2) learn about when and how to wash hands. EFNEP educators use the Glo-germ demonstration, which illustrates proper handwashing. Youth in upper grades also learn about food safety basics and how to store and handle food safely. During the pandemic, EFNEP quickly pivoted to offer classes virtually so that food safety lessons could continue. During the 2020 program year, EFNEP statewide delivered food safety lessons to 2,981 adult participants and 1,323 youth.

The pre/post EFNEP Adult Questionnaire utilized to evaluate the effectiveness of EFNEP shows 85% (1850 of 2187) of participants improved in one or more food safety practices, such as washing hands before preparing food, washing all items and surfaces after cutting raw meat or seafood, not thawing frozen food at room temperature, and using a meat thermometer. Thawing frozen food at room temperature is not recommended but appears to be common among EFNEP participants; only 29% met this recommendation before the training. After the EFNEP lesson, 65% of participants indicated they now less often thaw frozen food at room temperature. Among youth participants from grades K-12, 55% (733 of 1323) of children and youth gain knowledge or use safe food handling practices more often. Research shows that these food safety practices can reduce the prevalence of foodborne illness. Therefore, these outcomes demonstrate how EFNEP contributes to improved food safety and the public value of safeguarding sufficient, safe, and healthy food for all Californians.

 

After attending West Coast Rodent Academy, 75% of participants implemented improved rodent management skills, decreasing negative environmental impacts and demonstrating UC ANR's commitment to protecting California's natural resources.

The Issue

Commensal rodents, rats and mice, are among the most economically significant pests in the world. Three species of commensal rodents (Rattus rattus, Rattus norvegicus, and Mus musculus) are found in almost all California cities. These rodents exist in close proximity to human populations and are regularly found in homes, schools, restaurants, and other commercial settings, as well as food processing plants, storage areas and warehouses. In the United States, the need for rodent-focused integrated pest management (IPM) strategies is increasing. Studies have shown that climate change may affect fecundity and survivorship in some mammalian species. Climate change may also affect the free-living, intermediate, or vector stages of pathogens, such as those that infect commensal rodents. The lack of cost-effective alternatives to rodenticide use and property owners' resistance to making structural changes to their properties, combined with the pressure on the applicator to rapidly remediate the rodent infestation proves challenging for all involved in rodent management.

How UC Delivers

UCCE Advisor Niamh Quinn co-created the Rodent Academy curriculum, informed by research that has determined ways to decrease rodenticide exposure to nontarget wildlife. The goal of commensal rodent management is to reduce the population of rodents quickly so that no further damage or exposure to allergens and pathogens occurs. To achieve this goal, rodent management needs to be quick and efficient and involve a combination of trapping and rodenticides.

The curriculum is being delivered via the three-day West Coast Rodent Academy (WCRA). To date, 307 individuals from 115 pest management companies, as well as city, county, and state agencies have participated. It is projected that the WCRA will continue to grow and reach pest management professionals across California. WCRA has also had attendees from ten other states despite the program being developed  for California's pest management professionals. For example, Oregon State University's School of Integrated Pest Management Program attends  WCRA trainings  to learn more about starting  an academy in the Pacific Northwest. Furthermore, funds generated from the West Coast Rodent Academy are applied to research being conducted in three Master of Science projects related to pest management.

To evaluate the impact of WCRA, a follow-up survey was sent to approximately 180 professionals trained through the West Coast Rodent Academy in 2019.

The Impact

Over 90% of 43 West Coast Rodent Academy participants that responded to surveys indicated they have started or improved behavior changes related to identifying rodents and implementing safe work practices that reduce the risk of contracting rodent-borne disease. Over 85% reported behavioral changes around developing an integrated pest management plan for rodents and communicating with customers about the importance of integrated pest management. Three-quarters of the respondents reported improvements in following rodenticide label instructions. A majority of respondents believe these changes led to more efficient management, decreased negative environmental impacts, and increased customer satisfaction. These measured outcomes demonstrate how Rodent Academy contributes to increased ecological sustainability as part of UC ANR's commitment to the public value of protecting California's natural resources.

EFNEP and Ventanilla de Salud partnership reaches Latinx and farmworker clients through UCCE Connects to You! Zoom series. Forty-three percent improve food security indicators, contributing to UC ANR's public value of sufficient, safe, and healthy food for all Californians.

The Issue:

The Ventanilla de Salud (Window on Health) is a program that is implemented through 50 Mexican consulates in the United States. The goal of Ventanilla de Salud (VdS) of San Bernardino is to promote health literacy and healthy lifestyle choices, conduct health screenings, and increase access to health care for Latinxs who visit the Mexican Consulate in San Bernardino. According to UCLA's Community Health Interview Survey, almost half (46.9%) of Latinxs in San Bernardino County are not able to afford enough food in 2019. VdS engages families by holding a variety of in-person classes and one-time workshops while they wait for appointments. Due to shelter-in-place orders during the COVID-19 pandemic, VdS started providing virtual training and partnered with EFNEP to fulfill the needs for workshops focusing on a healthy diet and physical activity on virtual platforms.

How UC Delivers:

EFNEP Educator, Roxana Puentes, collaborated with VdS by holding a Facebook Live event to entice over 1000 VdS followers with a glimpse of the healthy recipes, physical activities and nutrition information they would learn if they enroll in EFNEP. The viewers made positive comments and liked the presentation. VdS helped EFNEP schedule and enroll interested participants in the series of four live group Zoom sessions. The participants received a total of 8 lessons, two lessons at a time, sent via mail or email. The lesson topics included physical activity, fruits and vegetables, reading the food label, saving money, managing food resources, food safety, and healthy recipes. Each Zoom session included a 5-minute physical activity break where participants walked, stretched or learned simple resistance exercises using items in their homes. Exercise breaks reinforced concepts learned about the importance of physical activity and gave them ideas to do on their own time. The Zoom sessions provided opportunities for participants to interact and share successes and challenges they were facing feeding children, such as picky eaters, difficulty finding time to cook, unsure what healthier items to choose at the grocery store, and making physical activity a priority. Although over 50 VdS participants participated in the Zoom session each time, 14 people attended the whole series and graduated. At the end of the series, graduates received a certificate and cookbook by mail.

The Impact:

EFNEP serves limited resource families, making food security and food resource management important aspects of the program. According to research in the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior, food resource management education has been shown to improve food security. At the beginning of EFNEP classes, 43% of class participants said they always lacked money or another way to get enough food for the family during the past month, and 57% said that they ate less so there was more food for the family. After participation in EFNEP, 43% of graduates showed improvement in one or more food security indicators, and 64% showed improvement in food management practices including compare food prices, plan meals, and looking in refrigerator or cupboard and make a list before shopping, which in turn saves money and stretches the food dollar. Additionally, 79% of graduates showed improvement in one or more diet quality indicators such as eating fruits and vegetables more often. About half of the participants reported making small changes to be more active. Overall, EFNEP helped improve living conditions for participants from VdS and contributes to the UCANR public value of promoting healthy people and communities.

“Thank you very much for this wonderful workshop. I learn a lot. Grateful.”, EFNEP Participant from Ventanilla de Salud