Posts Tagged: CalFresno
Empowering California youth through food smart families
The health of California youth reflects this disturbing national trend. To address the challenge of childhood obesity statewide, the California 4-H Food Smart Families program will be implemented at four sites in Fresno, Orange, Sutter-Yuba and Tulare counties this year. Additional UC partners will include the Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP) and CalFresh.
Youth need to increase consumption of dark green veggies and whole grains, and decrease intake of sugar and saturated fats. The objective of California 4-H Food Smart Families is to increase knowledge and create behavior change related to nutrition, cooking, gardening, physical activity and food preparation. The program engages youth 8 to 12 years old and teens in 4-H Healthy Living programming. Youth will be directly reached through lessons delivered at after-school sites, low-resource elementary schools and organized field days at four UC Agriculture and Natural Resources Research and Extension Centers (REC): Kearney REC in Parlier, South Coast REC in Irvine, Sierra Foothill REC in Browns Valley and Lindcove REC in Exeter. The program is structured around positive youth development curricula and practices which provide an intensive engagement of underserved children, teens, families and other stakeholders. Local 4-H teens will be recruited and trained to deliver programs and assume leadership roles.
Programming at California sites will get underway this fall and will continue through the school year. Look for more exciting California 4-H Food Smart Families news in the coming months as programming and activities kick into high gear.
Author: Roberta Barton
UC CalFresh gets kids to try healthy fruits and veggies
UC CalFresh educators took part in a field trip for fourth-graders in Fresno where the children tasted a wide variety of fresh fruits and vegetables, reported Dale Yurong on ABC 30 Action News.
"We encourage them to try it and then they try it and wind up liking it," said UC CalFresh nutrition educator Kristi Sharp. "That's a saying that we say - you can't judge it unless you try it."
Fresno Unified School District is the state's largest recipient of funds from the fruit and vegetable program, Yurong reported. In addition to including fruits and vegetables at meals, the district is serving grab-and-go fruits and vegetables everyday at recess at 45 elementary schools.
The UC CalFresh Youth Nutrition Education Program, part of UC Cooperative Extension, provides support and resources to pre-school through high school teachers in low-income schools to deliver nutrition and physical activity education in their classrooms.
Local kids learn benefits of eating healthy
Brook Borba, Turlock Journal
The City of Turlock has launched an After School Education Safety program with the Turlock Unified School District and in conjunction with the UC Cooperative Extension and AgLink.com to provide a farmers' market opportunity for local students.
Turlock students learn where food comes from, what types of fruits and vegetables are grown locally and interesting facts associated with food. At the end of the presentation, students are provided with shopping bags to pick out an assorted selection of fresh fruits and vegetables to eat or take home for their families.