- Author: Christine Davidson
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.”
- Author: Christine Davidson
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
- Author: Christine Davidson
Teachers from Juanita Blakely Jones Elementary School in the San Bernardino City Unified School District have been a part of the EFNEP program for many years. This year, 1st and 2nd grade teachers participated in the new virtual youth EFNEP program. The first grade students learned about the importance of taking care of your body by eating healthy, sleeping and being physically active from the My Amazing Body curriculum. The second graders learned about healthy snacking, the importance of breakfast, food safety and exercise from the Good For You and Me curriculum. Students and their teachers met live via Google Meets with their nutrition educator each week for 6 weeks. Fillable PDFs and Google Forms were available for all students via Google Classroom to complete worksheets and evaluations. The lessons started with a storybook reading related to the lesson topic, followed by interactive virtual games and a nutrition lesson. The final lesson topic included proper hand washing, which will be an important skill to know as students return to in person learning.
To show appreciation for their dedication to improving the health of all students, teachers were invited to participate in a freezer jam and seed paper making workshop provided by UCCE's Master Food Preserve and Master Gardener Programs. Kits were provided to teachers ahead of time to enable them to participate during the live demonstration. The freezer jam kit included a container, pectin and the jam recipe. Teachers were encouraged to provide their favorite fresh or frozen berries to use as they followed along. The workshop started with the Master Food Preserver Coordinator demonstrating the jam making process while incorporating important food safety, hand washing and storage techniques. Jam making was followed by seed paper making. The Master Gardener Coordinator provided a kit including a basket, screens, and sponges for teachers to follow along. This fun craft was a perfect gift or could be planted in their garden.
UCCE San Bernardino is looking forward to another workshop for teachers in the spring!