nutrition education

Eli Moskowitz – Summer Intern Spotlight

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My name is Eli Moskowitz, and I am from Cheshire, Connecticut. I am a rising junior at UConn as a Nutritional Sciences major with a sports nutrition minor. I am currently in the Didactic Program in Dietetics. My goal after graduation is to be a Registered Dietitian and to help the public and address their nutritional needs.

Going into this internship I did not have much experience in the field of nutrition. Luckily, I have an exceptional supervisor who has set a great example and guided me through this internship. In the UConn Extension building, there are several other educators and staff who all do completely different tasks as part of the Extension team . Through these individuals, I have a completely new perspective on nutrition. I never realized how the gardening industry has such a tremendous impact on people’s health. Growing and cooking your own food is one of the healthiest ways to consume your meals. I have been able to apply what I have learned about gardening and garden maintenance from the Master Gardeners in order to help others.

One of my favorite programs through this internship was when I helped teach and prepare lessons with the Norwalk Health Department at the Growing Gardens, Growing Health which is at Fodor Farm in Norwalk. We provide eight different classes during this program. I led a youth group and taught them about the negative effects of sugary drinks and better alternatives for healthy beverages. I presented physical demonstrations of how much sugar is in some sodas and the participants were shocked. I also showed them how to read serving sizes as well as sugar in grams. In fact, yesterday when I was teaching one of these programs, a young child told me how much sugar was in her drink and she told me whether it was healthy or not. This gave me a sense of pride and happiness in both my students and in myself. I was glad to see that they were taking my lessons and applying them to their lives!

During the second half of this program, we go down to the community garden and help families maintain and cultivate into their garden. Every family has their own raised garden to plant what they like. Norwalk Health Department provides all types of seeds and plants, and my role is to assist in the production and growth of their gardens. The kids have so much fun planting fruits and vegetables, and the parents are very happy to see their kids infatuated with nutrition.

At the Norwalk Growing Gardens, Growing Health Program I have worked with amazing women who are part of the Norwalk Health Department and work closely with the UConn Extension. I learned what they do for their communities. Before I did not know anything about these jobs, and now I feel well informed about what they do and how they collaborate with dietitians. It has made me feel more secure and optimistic about my future in this field.

Another fun program I assisted in was the Danbury Farmers Market. I woke up in the morning of the market, worrying about the rainy forecast. The organizers had a great idea to move it to the parking garage. I have never been to a farmers market in a parking garage, but it worked perfectly. All the vendors had enough space and there was a great turnout. We, as UConn Extension, provided two nutrition lessons with cooking demonstrations. My supervisor, coworker and I led the cooking demonstrations with approximately 30 people in each group. We made a delicious simple green salad and gave each participant a copy of the recipe.

These are just two of the several programs I will help lead throughout this internship. I have gained an incredible amount of knowledge and experience, and my confidence in public speaking has increased. I never led a discussion for such a large group of people prior to this internship. I learned that one of the best parts of this experience is the rewarding feeling you get from knowing your audience is going to benefit from your teaching efforts. I have met many people with diverse jobs that have taught me how their organizations work. I have obtained advice from them that I will take all throughout my career. With the knowledge I have received from my coworkers, and the experience I have gained from my programs, I feel I have taken a big leap into the world of nutrition.

Part-Time Agriculture Program Coordinator In-Training Position Open

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making the three sisters recipe with members of the Mashantucket tribe
Extension educators make the Three Sisters recipe with members of the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation.

We are seeking a part-time (20 hours/week) Agriculture Program Coordinator-in-Training to work on our Mashantucket Pequot Federally Recognized Tribes Extension Program (FRTEP). The incumbent will work collaboratively with a team of Extension professionals, tribal members, and leaders to empower members of Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation (MPTN) and communities through nutrition education and youth engagement. This includes a mix of responsibilities related to youth engagement, nutrition education and agriculture programming. The position is based in the MPTN reservation, which is located in Mashantucket, CT though the individual hired will be an employee of the University of Connecticut.

Read the full position description, including details on how to apply.

Food and Nutrition Security in Fairfield County

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Seniors Eating Well Program:

A community partnership between UConn Extension SNAP-Ed Food Security project, Elmwood Hall Senior Center, Danbury Farmers’ Market and Clatter Valley Farm provides a free produce box ($10 value) for seniors in need.  SNAP-Ed provides nutrition education materials following the Penn State Seniors Eating Well curriculum and includes a postcard with QR code that links to our UConn Extension YouTube channel community nutrition playlist.  The “Market on the Move” program was designed as a way to keep seniors safe during COVID-19 and as a way to continue to provide nutrition programming with the senior center closure. Social distancing, masks required, all participants remained in their vehicles and produce boxes/nutrition materials were placed in their passenger seat or trunk based on individual comfort level.  Senior Center staff coordinated with senior participants and distributed boxes on-site the day of, Danbury Farmers’ Market provided funding to support the produce, SNAP-Ed food security provided nutrition materials, recipes and a small incentive for each participant (ex: grilling tongs in July). Future programs are planned monthly throughout the Connecticut growing season, August, September and October 2020.

vegetables

woman dressed as tomato car with UConn CAHNR Extension sign

 

Danbury Farmers’ Market YouTube:

SNAP-Ed has been a long standing community partner of the Danbury Farmers’ Market Community Collaborative (DFMCC) providing on-site indirect or direct nutrition education for the past 12 years. In the past 5 years, SNAP participants have benefited from direct nutrition education via a 30 minute bilingual nutrition presentation and cooking demonstration.  This year given COVID-19, only farm vendors are permitted at the market.  SNAP-Ed needed to be a bit more creative in 2020.  SNAP-Ed Food Security is providing to market-goers weekly bilingual recipes, nutrition handouts and a postcard with QR code that links to low cost bilingual videos. SNAP-Ed Food Security partnered with the Danbury Public Library to offer a Zoom presentation, participants were encouraged to use SNAP or pandemic SNAP benefits at the market which allows doubling of SNAP benefits and as an incentive for their participation were provided a reusable insulated grocery tote at the market. All SNAP-Ed Food Security videos are posted on the UConn Extension YouTube channel, Danbury Farmers’ Market YouTube channel, and to social media outlets. If market-goers watch the Danbury Farmers’ Market YouTube videos and report back to the cashier at the farmers’ market, additional incentives from DFMCC include a free $3 plastic coin towards produce purchases.

YouTube Page: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCo2hcRxQSIxJdHoOZ7JZRSA

EFNEP and SNAP graphic

Meet Autumn Blasi: UConn EFNEP Intern

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Autumn BlasiHi! My name is Autumn Blasi, and I’m one of the summer interns with UConn CAHNR Extension. I’m currently working in clinical and community nutrition with organizations like the Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP), and the Human Resource Agencies (HRA) of Bristol and New Britain. At UConn, I major in Nutritional Sciences, with a concentration in the Didactic Program in Dietetics (DPD), and have a minor in Food Science. Also at UConn, I’ve been involved with various volunteer programs. I have been a member of both the Boston Understanding Homelessness and the New Haven Urban Food Insecurity alternative break trips, in addition to working with SOS Food Recovery. This involvement in volunteer work has greatly influenced my outlook on health and nutrition, as I have had the opportunity to learn first hand how limited resource populations are impacted by food insecurity. Beyond volunteer work, I’m also a peer educator for UConn Students Helping to Achieve Positive Esteem (SHAPE), and will be the secretary of UConn Nutrition Club beginning this fall. Currently, I also work as a dietary aide at Foxhill Center, a nursing home and rehabilitation facility.

Thanks to this experience, I have been able to begin my internship with a diverse background in food and nutrition subjects. Currently, I am helping to co-create and teach a summer nutrition education course through HRA. Additionally, I’m working on recipe and meal kit development, and have been attending clinical nutrition webinars. As the summer progresses, I hope to do more with clinical nutrition, and look forward to continuing my work with my amazing internship supervisors. Through this experience, I’ve already learned so much, and have found new ways to connect with those experiencing food insecurity. If you would like to learn more or support those experiencing food insecurity, check out the UConn EFNEP web page, or contact your local food pantry!

UConn EFNEP Website: https://efnep.uconn.edu/

Meet Nikki Santillo: New Haven County Farmer’s Market Intern

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Hello, my name is Nikki Santillo. I am interning with the New Haven County farmer’s market. I am a rising junior majoring in Nutritional Sciences with a minor in Food Science. In the fall semester, I was able to connect with an after school program the nutrition club supported. I helped inform the children about healthy decision making while preparing nutritious snacks. I hope to return and be a full time participant in the Nutrition Club this coming year.

My role with the New Haven County farmer’s market is to educate farmer’s market attendees about healthy, affordable recipes to create using the produce at the market. I am generating social media posts that are available to the public on UConn Extension’s multiple social media platforms. My goal is to explain how fruits and vegetables are important for our health and can be tailored to the individual’s taste. My first recipe, cauliflower fried rice, focuses on how vegetables can be used to increase the nutrient density of a typical dish. I enjoy finding new and healthy substitutions using fresh foods.

The Meriden farmer’s market opens July 11th and is held every Saturday up until October 17th. I encourage everyone nearby to go and support local farmers while also developing a healthy lifestyle.

Cooking with EFNEP at Morris Street School

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EFNEP graduation photo Since, 1969, the Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP) has helped families in Connecticut learn about healthy eating, physical activity, cooking, and shopping on a budget. Despite being an affluent state, nearly 1 in 5 families with children in Connecticut is food insecure, or does not have adequate access to healthy food. Many urban areas in Connecticut are amongst the poorest in the country. Additionally, access to healthy food is a challenge in rural areas where transportation is a barrier. EFNEP staff work in these areas of greatest need in Connecticut, striving to empower participants, providing knowledge and skills to improve the health of all family members. Participants learn through doing, with cooking, physical activity and supportive discussions about nutrition and healthy habits.

Heather Peracchio and Juliana Restrepo-Marin from UConn Extension EFNEP in Fairfield County teamed up with Danbury’s Morris Street School Family Resource Center to provide a series of classes on healthy eating, exercise, cooking and food safety to new mothers. The classes covered topics such asportion sizes, recommended servings for different age groups, and how to use MyPlate Daily Checklists. Access to vital emergency food resources, like food pantries and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) were also discussed. Participants learned how to make smart drink and breakfast choices, how to read nutrition labels and compare nutritional facts, and how to shop smart and find the best value. The educators completed hands-on cooking demonstrations with the group, using healthy, affordable and easy-to-prepare recipes from the Cooking With EFNEP cookbook. The class also discussed how to incorporate more physical activity into the day, with a Zumba class that was led by a participant that was a certified instructor.

Upon lesson completion, participants were given the opportunity to comment on the course and what they learned. Overall, the feedback was overwhelmingly positive. Here’s what some participants had to say:  “I learned many things, such as: how to control sugar portions, I learned about oil, food prices and how to incorporate seasonal fruit in my recipes.”

“I loved this class very much. I learned how to eat healthier, buy better food, check the products’ labels and how to add fruit in my meals.”

“Thank you for giving us the opportunity to learn in this nutrition course. Thanks to Viviane for organizing this class and making it possible. I would also like to thank Miss Heather and Miss Juliana for teaching us how to cook healthy meals for our daily lives. I learned a lot from you and I hope this is not the last time you teach us.”

“I would like to thank teacher Heather, Juliana, the translator and Viviane for this great effort and support to all of us with the nutrition classes. This has been very helpful. We learned how to eat healthy.”

For more information on how you can become involved in UConn Extension Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program, or to see our recipes, and other information, go to efnep.uconn.edu or find us on Facebook at UConn Extension Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program- EFNEP or Twitter at @UConnEFNEP!

Article by Madelyn Zanini

Improving Nutrition in New Britain

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The Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP) helps families learn about healthy eating, shopping on a budget, cooking and physical activity. EFNEP staff strive to empower participants, providing knowledge and skills to improve the health of all family members. Participants learn through doing, with cooking, physical activity and supportive discussions about nutrition and healthy habits.

EFNEP classes will help you to prepare delicious, low-cost, healthy meals for you and your family. Some of our past classes are highlighted in this series. Contact the office near you for more information. 

dairy smoothieThe New Britain Mount Pleasant Program was a collaboration between the Family Resource Center and Housing. The program collaborators were skeptical about participant attendance and follow through. On our first session only 5 people had signed up for the nutrition class, and 18 people showed up. Each week we had a great turn out with 10 graduates attending 10 hours of education. The amazing part of the class was how many students started to make changes. For example, B, was a student who immediately began eating more vegetables. He also changed his morning bacon and sausage routine to oatmeal. He stopped drinking soda. Instead he showed up to class with his own fruit infused water. He followed my mantra of only drink water or 1 glass of milk. Another student wrote a heartfelt note thanking me for the class. She said she “suffered from depression, and had a hard time leaving the house and being around people, and class gave me something to look forward to.” She also mentioned purchasing a blender to make healthy smoothies for breakfast (another one of my recipes). The students did not want the class to end, and vowed to come back as experts in the fall when we hold another class, and made comments like ” I was inspired by your first class” and There should be more classes like this.”

The program was centered on grocery shopping – each lesson had a grocery shopping component. Students reported saving money on their groceries through the use of mobile apps we learned about in class. They also reported changes in their grocery shopping habits. As mentioned above, a direct benefit was improved dietary habits as a result of the lessons. An unintended indirect benefit was the benefit of social support from a peer group, which helped one participant with her depression. The improvement in her depression made such an impact that it motivated her to make changes to improve her dietary intake and overall health.

Nutrition Education in Windham County

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By Dianisi Torres

dried apple
Photo: National Center for Home Food Preservation

This has been an exceptionally busy year for Nutrition Education. In addition to the EFNEP (Expanded Food & Nutrition Education Program) being held at public schools and libraries including Windham, Moosup, Putnam, North Grosvenor Dale, and Killingly, the SNAP Ed program offers nutrition assistance to millions of low income families in need. The EFNEP educator works in collaboration with non-profit organizations as Cooking Matters offering nutrition and cooking workshops for adults which is taught in Spanish and English. Another non-profit program is CLiCK, Inc. located in Willimantic. EFNEP collaborates every year with CLiCK offering summer programs for children, youth and adult cooking classes using fresh vegetables from the CLiCK community garden that the Willimantic students have grown. We hope to offer even more programs in the coming year. For more information, contact Dianisi Torres at: dianisi.torres@uconn.edu

Healthy and Homemade Meals in Fairfield County

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Healthy and homemade meals and seasonal vegetables were part of nutrition education outreach conducted by Extension educator Heather Peracchio in September. Heather works with the Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP) and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Education (SNAP-Ed) and is based in the Fairfield County Extension Center. She reports on her programming for September:

SNAP-Ed programs:

Nutrition outreach at the mobile pantry in Bethel on September 27th reached a record high 220 families. United Way suspects the great increase in numbers this month might be due to families being sent flyers home in school backpacks.

nutrition education healthy homemade mealA two-part series of nutrition classes were presented at the Veterans Affairs office in Bridgeport on September 6th and 13th. One class focused on sugar sweetened drinks and how to make healthier choices, participants taste tested a fresh fruit smoothie. The other class focused on budget-saving tips like making simple cook ahead meals. All participants received a 2018 calendar and taste tested a salad with homemade honey mustard dressing and a tamale pie, both recipes were featured in the Healthy and Homemade calendar from Iowa State Extension. Dietetic intern, Anna VanderLeest, assisted with both of these classes.

Eat Smart Live Strong at Elmwood Senior Center on Wednesday, September 20th reached 42 seniors; and New Hope church in Danbury on September 27th reached 28 seniors. Each class had the opportunity to taste test a kale salad with homemade honey mustard dressing. Each senior was encouraged to continue to follow the two key healthy behaviors from the series, eating at least 3.5 cups of fruits and vegetables each day and participating in at least 30 minutes of physical activity every day. Each participant was given a 2018 Healthy and Homemade calendar as well.

SNAP-Ed participated in the Danbury Farmers market Saturday September 23rd. Participants learned all about seasonal vegetables including kale and apples. Extension educators Heather Peracchio and Juliana Restrepo-Marin offered an in-person food demonstration of a kale apple slaw. 30 participants attended the class offered on-site at the market. The next class is planned for Saturday October 14th.

This month Fairfield County Extension nutrition programs partnered with Western Connecticut Health Networks Dietetic Internship. Three dietetic interns from Danbury and Norwalk Hospital, Candido Gonzalez, Christian Aguilar and Angelina Campbell accompanied Heather to shadow and assist with programming on September 20th and September 27th.

EFNEP:

A new program combining fitness and nutrition with Extension educator German Cutz’s current 4-H soccer teams had a third class on Thursday, September 14th. Participants included 46 parents and children, where they learned about label reading and how to identify fat and sugar in common snack foods as part of the Choose Health: Fun, Food and Fitness curricula. There was a hands-on demonstration of an apple cinnamon yogurt tortilla snack where parents participated, and everyone taste tested. They also held a class Friday, October 6th.

Heather continues to coordinate with Danbury’s Morris Street School Family Resource Staff and a new EFNEP program at Morris Street School is planned Monday evenings beginning October 16th. Interested participants can contact Morris Street Family Resource Center to sign up.

Extension is a nationwide effort to give the public access to research-based information, scientific expertise, and educational programs they can use to enhance their everyday lives. UConn Extension, a program of the College of Agriculture, Health and Natural Resources (CAHNR) works in all 169 towns of Connecticut with a network of over 100 educators and scientists. Over 2,900 volunteers leverage the ability of Extension to work in every community.

EFNEP: Making an Impact

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EFNEP

The nutrition programming through EFNEP has three components: healthy food and physical activity choices, making funds go farther, and learning skills to improve food preparation and food safety practices. Clients participate in four to eight lessons, meet with the educator at least four times, complete pre and post assessments, participate in food and nutrition activities, and practice their learned skills. Recipes are available in English and Spanish. During the program, participants taste new foods, acquire cooking skills, and learn about food safety and storage. As part of healthy choices, clients learn about preparing healthy foods and nutritious snacks for various stages of the life cycle. Making funds go farther in the grocery store is a skill anyone can use. Extension educators help clients plan meals, make grocery lists, read labels, and shop wisely. UConn Extension educators toured the Danbury Price Rite with moms from Grassroots Academy, and taught them about saving money at the store while feeding their families healthier foods. EFNEP has always included an evaluation component that measures food behaviors and dietary quality. Evaluations show the vast majority of EFNEP participants have made at least one improvement in their food choices. There is also an increase in the number of participants eating the recommended amounts of fruits and vegetables after an EFNEP program.