Posts Tagged: Fresno County
Engaging Learners of All Ages
Students at Balderas and Winchell Elementary Schools receive no-cost nutrition...
Kearney expanded its lettuce planting event to include Kings County.
This year, Kearney Agricultural Research and Extension Center participated in both the Kings County Farm Day and the Fresno County Farm and Nutrition Day. KARE's mini workshop discusses what it takes to be a healthy plant and what it takes to be a healthy person. The students plant leaf lettuce to take home so that it can grow and they can eat it. The Kings County event attracted over 2700 students and the Fresno County event attracted over 3500 students. Left over lettuce transplants were used by different FFA programs. These events were made possible by generous donations from Greenheart Farms, The Plant People, and Valley Soil & Forest Products. Our ability to deliver these workshops are in great part due to the wonderful volunteers who come and work hard at the events. Fresno's lettuce planting was featured on the KMPH Channel 26 Great Day morning show. We also thank the respective fair staff and Farm Bureau staff.
Julie Sievert discussing what it takes to be a healthy plant and a healthy person with Kings County students.
Kings County student planting lettuce with a volunteer.
Fresno county students enjoying being on the Great Day morning show.
Snap-Ed Partner Convening 2015
SNAP-Ed partners in Fresno County convened on January 9th to share successes, best practices, and...
New school meals provision gives kids more access to healthy food
“This initiative reduces hunger among children in high-poverty areas, and ensures students have access to the healthy food they need to succeed in school,” USDA Under Secretary Kevin Concannon said during Tuesday's visit to Edison Computech Middle School in Fresno.
“About 20 percent of U.S. households with children were food insecure at some time in 2013 – meaning they had trouble affording enough food to eat,” said Lorrene Ritchie, director of UC Nutrition Policy Institute.
The new provision allows school districts to serve all of their students at no charge to the students, reducing the districts' paperwork for the school meal program. It also removes the stigma that deterred some students from accepting the needed nourishment.
“One of the largest and most accessible means to reduce food insecurity in children and improve their diet is the federal school lunch and breakfast programs,” said Ritchie. “Research has shown that school meals are healthier than most meals that students get elsewhere. For these reasons, we are highly supportive of the Community Eligibility Provision, which makes it easier for the kids who need it the most to have access to healthy meals at school.”
“It is wonderful to see that Fresno Unified School District has jumped on the brand new opportunity that the Community Eligibility Provision offers to bring nutritious meals and snacks to all of its students without charge,” Kenneth Hecht, director of policy for the UC Nutrition Policy Institute.
“More than four out of five families of Fresno Unified School District's 75,000 students have such low-incomes that they qualify for free or reduced-price meals,” Hecht said. “Many students' families are not English-language households, and the school district has been struggling — effectively — to improve its dropout and graduation rates. Free school meals are a major element in the district's successful effort to improve student success: nutritious free meals bring children to school, contribute to their health and academic performance and let families spend the money they save when their children can eat at school to improve the nutrition quality of the meals that are prepared at home.”
In addition to being able to serve more students, Fresno Unified School District's seven-year-old, state-of-the-art kitchen enables school chefs to prepare all meals and snacks within the district, according to Hecht. “This means food can be freshly prepared, without relying on preprocessed foods that often include fats, sugars and other unhealthy additives that contribute to childhood obesity,” he said, adding, “Children in Fresno County experience a more than 40 percent rate of overweight and obesity.”
“Not surprisingly food insecurity can result in lower diet quality,” said Ritchie. “For example, in a new study to be published in the Journal of Nutrition, we found that higher levels of food insecurity among children was related to increased consumption of energy, fat and sugar, and a lower intake of vegetables. Food insecurity can also have negative behavioral and cognitive effects.”
During Concannon's visit to Computech, members of the UC CalFresh nutrition education team met and got a photo of the USDA under secretary touring the kitchen.
“We were present due to UC CalFresh's close partnership with the district,” said Shelby MacNab, UC Cooperative Extension nutrition program manager in Fresno County. “We teach nutrition and are leading the Smarter Lunchrooms movement (SLM). Computech was our pilot site and the district was thrilled with the outcome. The undersecretary said SLM was music to his ears.”
At the end of the school year, we celebrate success
As the school year comes to a close, the schools we work with are humming with end of the year festivities. Students are looking forward to summer break, but always ask if we will be on campus teaching nutrition next school year. The answer is an enthusiastic yes!
As we say our temporary goodbyes for the summer, we've been reflecting on all of the wonderful experiences we've had. UC CalFresh staff really enjoy collaborating with teachers dedicated to helping children and families build healthier lifestyles. It's a joy to see children learn to make healthier choices over the school year.
Here are some of the highlights from our work in community nutrition education that we couldn't wait to share!
Teaching Yokomi elementary students how to build a healthy body
Trying new foods at Columbia elementary
Learning about edible plant parts at Sunshine Day
Teaching 3rd graders to choose "anytime" foods at Farm and Nutrition Day
The above images capture just a glimpse into the exciting world of nutrition education. This year we've celebrated alongside parents who have earned a certificate in our class series, helped establish nutrition corners to promote healthy eating, and so much more! We can't wait to see what next school year holds!
To learn more about the nutrition education happening in Fresno County, visit the UC CalFresh blog.