- Author: Pamela Kan-Rice
More than 50 ANR people got their daily steps in while participating in the annual UC Walks on May 12. They gathered online for light stretching to warm up, then went outside to walk or stayed on Zoom for group yoga. After the invigorating activity, participants reconvened on Zoom to do cool-down stretches and to share comments about the exercise.
UC ANR promotes wellness by encouraging employees to take time out of their day to be physically active.
The UC ANR Staff Assembly Wellness Committee, which organized the event, offered raffle and photo contest prizes.
Winners of the UC Walks raffle were Laura Gonzalez, who won a $25 gift card, and Christopher Wong and Jan Newman, who each won a Fitbit.
The UC Walks photo contest attracted 29 entries in the categories of fashion, urban and nature. Two winners were selected per category. Each winner will receive a $25 gift card to a sporting goods retailer of their choice.
Fashion photo winners were Elia Escalante with two dogs sporting UC ANR branding, and Susan Weaver at Martial Cottle Park.
Nature photo winners were Ryan Keiffer at the Mailliard Redwoods State Natural Reserve and Sonia Rodriguez with her 6-year-old granddaughter at Horseshoe Lake.
Urban photo winners were Sarah-Mae Nelson and Grilda Gomez.
Carrie Yarwood won Walking Bingo and Lauren Borges, Pam Kan-Rice and Brian Oatman topped the #UCANRmoves social media posts.
Thanks to Vanity Campbell, David Ritz, Scott Brayton, Nora Lopez and Molica Sim for organizing the UC ANR Walks activities.
- Author: Julie Cates
A motivated third-grade teacher, Fidel Garcia, applied for grants from the Tulare County Farm Bureau, California Ag in the Classroom, the Dairy Council of California and LifeLab. He invited UC Cooperative Extension nutrition educator Grilda Gomez into the classroom to share the UC Cooperative Extension “Nutrition to grow on” lessons. A local nursery, Bonnie Plants, donated seeds and transplants to grow cabbage, zucchini and onions in the school garden.
Garcia asked the other Pixley Elementary third-grade teachers to be involved. David McGrady's class researched and planted herbs. Garcia's class and Ralph Gutierrez' class planted the main garden. All the students regularly visited to weed, irrigate and watch the vegetables grow.
At harvest time, UCCE's Gomez worked with the students to prepare a fresh coleslaw using vegetables representing the six plant parts they learned about in the classroom – stems, seeds, leaves flowers, fruit and roots.
Crunchy coleslaw
8 cups finely shredded cabbage (2 ½ pound medium head)
1 cup finely sliced celery
½ cup shredded carrot (1 medium carrot)
½ cup sliced green onion
¼ cup chopped parsley
2 tablespoons salad oil
Pinch celery salt
¼ teaspoon black pepper
¼ cup wine vinegar
Directions:
Combine cabbage, celery, carrot, green onion and parsley. Pour on salad oil and toss until slaw is evenly coated. Sprinkle on and toss in seasonings. Finally, add wine vinegar and toss.
- Author: Jeannette E. Warnert
The Visalia Times-Delta reported that UC Cooperative Extension was one of the organizations represented at a meeting about the potential merger last Friday, which also included Kaweah Delta Healthcare District, Pixley-based Be Healthy Tulare and United Way of Tulare County.
“I guess one of my fears is there is an inherent distrust of Fresno,” the story quoted Cathi Lamp, nutrition, family and consumer sciences advisor for UCCE in Tulare County and a former FoodLink board member. Lamp said she is concerned the merged food bank would be based in Fresno County, and Tulare County's needs might be ignored.
Julie Cates, UCCE nutrition program coordinator, told me FoodLink of Tulare County has long focused on distributing quality, nutrient dense products and partnering with agencies, such as UCCE, to provide nutrition education.
"We were able to have our teachers at the school receiving the 'farmers market' write testimonial emails and one teacher submitted letters from the fourth-grade students," Cates said. "I am very pleased with this outcome, as it illustrates how the food distributions are migrating from the inner to outer circles of the social ecological model in which we are striving to serve, reflecting universal behavior change."
View a one-minute video about one of the collaborative projects conducted by FoodLink of Tulare County and UCCE Tulare County:
- Author: Julie Cates
At Snowden Elementary in Farmersville, Mrs. Joy Smith fully utilizes this amazing squash. She incorporates the pumpkin and its many seeds to teach students about math. These skills are reinforced using tactile and spatial relations. Two excellent educators partner to demonstrate how the seeds can be added, multiplied and placed in arrays. Nutrition educator Grilda Gomez partners with Mrs. Smith to provide nutritional data related to eating the “meat” of the pumpkin as well as its seeds. For Smith and Gomez, pumpkins are not just great for pie but also for pi. Upon completion of math activities, the students continue celebrating the wonders of pumpkins by carving jack-o-lanterns with their high school buddies. While many of the students have eaten pumpkin pie, few have ventured beyond sugary variations of the fruit. On this day the students also get to enjoy a tasty treat prepared by Gomez, pumpkin spread served on whole wheat toast slices.
“Tastes like my ‘buela’s empanadas,” remarks a student.
Yes, similar to the mixture in empanadas, this recipe allows the students to enjoy the full flavor of pumpkin with very little added sugar. Pumpkins provide a terrific supply of Vitamins A and C. They are not just for dessert either. Pumpkins are a wonderful addition to creamy vegetable soups. Winter is approaching, but it’s not too late to pick this versatile squash.
Pumpkin spread
- 16 oz. can pumpkin
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
- 1-2 tablespoons lemon juice
Mix in an pan and heat on the stove until it bubbles. Let cool slightly. Ready to eat warm or cold. Store in refrigerator up to 4 days. Use on toast or bread, tortillas, waffles and pancakes.