Posts Tagged: nutrition

UCCE's healthy-eating guidelines readily available

UC Cooperative Extension's nutrition education programs were the feature of freelance writer Don Curlee's "Ag At Large" column last week. The column appears in a variety of publications, including the Hanford Sentinel, the Stockton Record, the (Sutter-Yuba) Appeal Democrat and Capital Press.

Curlee's article noted that UCCE has, "Knowledgeable, trained advisors ... on hand locally ... to help with meal planning, wise shopping, individual diet planning and overall nutritional health."

The column was prompted by the January-March issue of California Agriculture journal, a special issue focusing on "Healthy Families and Communities." In the opening editorial, former California Superintendent of Public Instruction Delaine Eastin said the state is facing a crisis in the health and education of its young people, Curlee reported.

“The challenges include high childhood obesity, rising school dropout rates and low student achievement, especially in the sciences," Eastin said. “Healthy families and children are vital to our nation and its prosperous future. It is time that key players in higher education join in a project to promote the general welfare by focusing on measurable scientific initiatives we can pursue to ensure the blessings of liberty to our posterity.”

Local newspaper shares Fresno County CalFresh outreach

Reedley seniors learned how to eat healthy on a budget by participating in a four-session course offered by UC Cooperative Extension CalFresh Nutrition Education, reported the Reedley Exponent.

UCCE nutrition educator Nancy Zumkeller taught participants how to make 'cowboy caviar' during the program's third session, which reporter Jodie Reyna attended. During the program, Zumkeller compared the cost of a "healthy" shopping cart - which included white tuna and dried pinto beans - and an "unheathy" cart - with hot dogs and ground beef. The heathier cart came to $44.31. The less healthy cart was $58.24.

"It's not about choosing foods because they taste good, but about what's in the foods," Zumkeller said.

Cowboy caviar is an inexpensive and healthful recipe shared with participants of UCCE CalFresh Nutrition Education. (Photo: Iowa State University Extension and Outreach.)

UCCE launches Northern California obesity study, 'Naturalist' program

UC Cooperative Extension nutrition researchers are in the process of selecting five schools each from Shasta and Butte counties to pilot a nutrition and extension program that university researchers will study to learn how to motivate kids to choose healthy habits, the Redding Record Searchlight reported.

The project is funded with a $500,000 grant from UC Agriculture and Natural Resources.

"We are going to support the school(s) to develop a stronger wellness program that rewards healthy eating and physical activity," said Concepción Mendoza, UCCE advisor in Shasta County, nutrition, family and consumer sciences.

UC Cooperative Extension specialist Patricia Crawford, nutrition, told reporter Joe Szydiowski that people's palettes depend on four criteria: easy to get, cheap, tastes good, and heavily advertised.

Those combine to provide a strong push for people to eat unhealthy food.

"We have to go against the forces to reach out and get foods that will make us healthy," she said. One of the best ways to do that, Crawford said, is by providing students with easy access to cold, clean water.

The program could be extended to the state and national level if it's successful after the two years of study.

UCCE offers 'California Naturalist' program in Truckee

Aspiring naturalists may enroll in a 40-hour course this summer at UC Berkeley's Sagehen Creek Field Station near Truckee to receive classroom and field training in science, problem-solving, communication and community service, according to the Sierra Sun.

The 'California Naturalist' course fee of $350 includes course instruction, a PDF textbook, graduation certificate, website support and registration as a UC "California Naturalist."

UCCE supports Tahoe fire awareness week and Oroville nutrition decathlon

As part of Tahoe Fire Awareness Week, May 26 to June 3, Tahoe Basin fire agencies and partners, including Tahoe Regional Planning Agency and the University of California and Nevada Cooperative Extensions, are sponsoring a series of free webinars to help individuals and communities learn how to become more fire adaptive, reported the Record-Courier. Each webinar will be held from noon to 1 p.m. and will be recorded and archived for later viewing.

“With 2012 shaping up to be a high risk year for wildfires, the more people can prepare to survive the threat the better we all will be,” said Susan Kocher, University of California Cooperative Extension advisor, natural resources.

Kocher speaks in session three of the seminar series on May 30 about defensible space landscaping. The session also includes a talk by Wendy West, UC Cooperative Extension program representative, natural resources, titled "Learning how to garden at Lake Tahoe."

See the UCCE Lake Tahoe Basin Wildfire Awareness Week website for more details and links to the webinars.

Nutrition Decathlon

UC Cooperative Extension in Butte County offers local schools a "Nutrition Decathlon," a full-day nutrition and physical activity program, reported the Oroville Mercury-Register.

UCCE is beginning its Nutrition Decathlon season, hosting activities at schools that are making changes on their campuses, said Jona Pressman, UCCE program manager, nutrition.

"To participate, they need to be making significant changes with physical activity and nutrition," Pressman said.

At Helen Wilcox School last Friday, students ran, jumped, balanced on beams, tossed balls into nets, hopped in sacks, ducked through hoops, balanced bean bags on their heads, crawled through tubes, did pushups and lifted slight weights, reported Barbara Arrigoni, Mercury-Register staff writer.

UCCE collaborates with California agencies to fight obesity

California Assemblyman Bill Monning attended a regional "Health from Field to the Sea" summit in Watsonville last week, where 60 people from five counties representing health agencies, hospitals and nonprofits came together to plan the battle against obesity, reported the San Jose Mercury News.

For show-and-tell, Monning brought a 50-ounce soda mug he purchased at a mini-mart in King City.

"I've seen people drinking from that size container," said Andrea Schmitt, an intern with United Way. "It's scary."

UC Cooperative Extension advisor Susan Algert, a nutrition expert, also attended the meeting.

"We need to get out of silos," she said. "We need to coordinate efforts rather than compete.

Susan Algert provides nutrition education for UC Cooperative Extension.

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