UCCE San Bernardino County received a grant from the Sustainable Agriculture Research & Education Program (SAREP) to provide education to at risk communities in San Bernardino County. The grant began June 2021 and will continue through May 2022. Two groups of parents were a part of the three program collaboration consisting of a series of workshops from the Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP) ,  Master Gardener (MG) and Master Food Preserver (MFP) Programs. Twelve lessons in total were provided at the Victor Elementary School District Parent Resource Center and via Zoom for Middle College High School parents. All workshops were conducted in Spanish to help reach the underserved population in San Bernardino County. Kits were provided during the workshops to give the participants opportunities to practice along with the educator or prepare on their own at home.

     The EFNEP workshops consisted of a series of 8 lessons including topics such as reading the nutrition facts label, food safety, MyPlate, stretching the food dollar, importance of exercise, limiting salt, sugar and fat. Parents were given a kit with ingredients to prepare Cowboy Caviar and Apple Salad recipes.  At the parent center, the educator provided a live demonstration and sent kits home with parents to make their own apple salad. The educator conducted another food demonstration via Zoom while parents made the recipes in their homes. One mother added additional vegetables she had in her refrigerator to the Cowboy Caviar and reported her family loved the meal she served for dinner that evening. Graduates of the EFNEP program received a cookbook and certificate of graduation.

     The EFNEP workshops were followed by the MFP and MG workshops alternating each week. Victor Elementary School District held an in person hands on activity making three tiered herb gardens. Participants received pots, soil, seeds, transplants and cuttings during the hands on workshop. All participants went home with their new garden and tips on maintaining it. This workshop was repeated for the Middle College High School parents along with those that were not able to attend VESD via Zoom. Parents received kits at their school sites and watched the live demonstration with time for questions at the end. The last MG workshop was Growing Cool Season Vegetables. Parents learned which vegetables were best to grow in the high desert climate and how to care for them in the process. They were given a binder with information about growing and maintaining vegetables, a pot, Popsicle sticks and a sharpie to label their vegetables, seeds for carrots, peas and radishes, and tote bag.

     The Master Food Preserver program also provided two workshops for the parents. Each workshop emphasized the importance of food safety including proper storage of food, sanitation and hand washing. The first was refrigerator pickling. The volunteers conducted a live demonstration walking parents through the entire process. Parents were given a kit to take home. The kit included carrots, jalapenos, garlic, pickling salt and spices, a container, a bottle of vinegar and the recipe. They were given options to create the recipe either sweet or salty depending on preference. The next workshop was a hands on activity making freezer jam with mixed berries. The volunteers walked parents through the process. Each participate was given a bag of frozen mixed berries, a container, sugar, and pectin. They took home their homemade jam along with the recipe. 

     All workshops reinforced concepts of food safety, saving money by shopping on sale as well as growing and preserving your own food. This addressed the area of food insecurity which is something that families in San Bernardino struggle with. Parents were excited to participate in all workshops and share photos of making and growing their food at home. Parents who attended all twelve workshops received a certificate of completion. These activities will continue throughout the year reaching more families in San Bernadino County.

      Youth EFNEP partnered with the San Bernardino City Unified School Districts' Family Engagement Center to help support their Summer Reading Program. Over 120 Kindergarten through Sixth graders joined the 6 week virtual program via Zoom. Additionally, seventeen students participated in the Summer Nutrition Club which consisted of children whose parent have participated in the Adult EFNEP Program in San Bernardino County.

     Forty-two kindergarten and first graders completed 6 lessons from the My Amazing Body Curriculum. The lessons began with a story book reading such as “Sleep is for Everyone” and “Why Should I Eat Well?”. The story was followed with a health related topic such as eating healthy foods, getting the proper amount of sleep, and the importance of exercise. Students played interactive games including Kahoots to keep engaged during the session. Forty-nine 2^nd and 3^rd graders attended lessons from the Good for Me and You curriculum. The lessons also began with a story including “Wallie Exercises”. The story reading was followed by nutrition lessons such as MyPlate and healthy snacking. Additionally 58, 4^th through 6^th graders participated in the new Up4It curriculum. The unique lessons were student lead. They challenged students to think and work together to accomplish activities with minimal input from educators. Students were able to participate in reading and learn about living a healthy lifestyle during their summer break. Graduates from the program received lessons enhancements and a certificate in the mail!

   During the COVID-19 pandemic, families were becoming more food insecure than ever before and with stay at home orders, shopping for food and other items was becoming limited. It was also a time where more families were interested in growing and preserving their own food to help combat the uncertainly of the pandemic.

   To help families become more resourceful and self-sufficient, EFNEP partnered with UCCE's Master Gardener and Master Food Preserver programs to provide extended education on food safety, food resource management and healthy eating habits. EFNEP provided a series of lessons via Zoom using the Eating Smart Being active curricula through UCCE Connects to You. Throughout the series, educators promoted the upcoming MFP and MG workshops and how the participant's would benefit from continuing to learn. The EFNEP series was followed by virtual MFP and MG workshops which turned into monthly classes. The food preservation topics included refrigerator pickling, jam making, apple pie filling, dehydrating, freezing vegetables, fermentation, and making fruit leather. During the workshops food safety concepts from EFNEP were reinforced and participants received detailed information on the process, a live demonstration, the recipe and handouts. The gardening topics included sustainable landscape and composting, growing strawberries, peas, blueberries, herbs, tomatoes and peppers, and container gardens.  At the end of each workshop volunteers were available to answer questions. Both programs reinforced food resource management and food security by sharing how to use items at home to grow and preserve food.

   The three programs plan to continue serving families and expanding reach. We will continue to provide monthly gardening and food preservation workshops for EFNEP participants in Spanish and English. The programs have received grant funding through The UC Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program to extend the program to include kits for each workshop. The participants will receive a kit to participate during the virtual or in person workshop. Receiving a hands on experience will help to increase self-efficacy. The Master Gardener and Master Food Preserver programs are now reaching under severed groups they had not be able to reach previously by delivering workshops in both English and Spanish to low-income families participating in EFNEP. Momentum was gained over a 9 months and participation increased by over 25%.  One participant shared “MFP has taught us a variety of methods to preserve our foods. When the berries are on sale at the store, I make a big purchase and preserve them, by using the ‘freezing method'.” Another participant shared her experiences with all three programs saying “We've learned how to make changes that have helped us save money and my daughters make parfaits and smoothies in the morning, which makes me feel proud that they are making healthier choices. We planted a tomato tree with the hopes that it will help me save money and eat healthier. I make my own compost as well now. I don't throw away too much trash and hopefully the environment slowly becomes a better place.”

  The Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP) has partnered with San Andreas High School for over a decade. The partnership began with EFNEP bringing workshops on preparing and eating healthy food to the Cal SAFE program for pregnant teens. The Cal SAFE program phased out of San Andreas but Clara Wilshire, nutrition educator, continued to provide nutrition education through Youth EFNEP using the Hunger Attack curriculum. The school has since started to offer more programs and career pathways in business, technology, health and science. They now have a large greenhouse and hydroponic garden for students to grow and sell their produce. They expanded the partnership with EFNEP to include the UCCE San Bernardino Master Gardener Program.

 The high school has been presenting information virtually during Farm to School Fridays to teach students where food comes from.  EFNEP educator Clara Wilshire provided a lesson on MyPlate and prepared vegetable quesadillas using ingredients from the school's garden. Clara walked out to the garden and showed students how to select the best produce and properly clip cilantro from the bunch. She also reviewed proper food safety tips when preparing food such as washing hands and produce before beginning. The presentation was live streamed to 87 kindergarten through 12th grade classes in the San Bernardino City Unified School District reaching over 1700 students.

  During the presentation, 95% of students stated they were familiar with MyPlate and 88% stated they had tried quesadillas previously during a live poll. Students were invited to write questions and answers in the chat and five students were brought in via webcam to ask the educator questions live. Two students from Bob Holcomb Elementary School asked “ If I drink juice do I still get the vitamins?” and “Is it okay to eat vegetables from fast food places?”. Clara was able to answer their questions and provide additional feedback. The session wrapped up with a review of what was learned about MyPlate, a raffle and a tasting by Ms. Figueroa of the delicious veggie quesadillas. Teachers were provided materials for the lesson, parent handouts and the recipe so students could make the snack at home. 

Watch the event videos below. 

Español

Estudiantes de San Bernardino cultivan alimentos y nuevas oportunidades - YouTube

 English

In San Bernardino, a unique partnership helps students cultivate food and new opportunities. - YouTube