North Carolinians eligible for food stamps can learn to get the best nutrition value for their resources, thanks to the partners who develop the state’s nutrition education plan.
North Carolina Cooperative Extension agents, working through the North Carolina Nutrition Network, provide education targeted at age groups from “cradle to grave.” The Nutrition Network is one of the partners that develops the state nutrition education plan, along with the state’s food stamp office and the food and nutrition service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Started in 1997 and based in Morganton, the Nutrition Network includes Extension’s county centers, public health departments, food banks, universities, private industry and nonprofit organizations. Its budget for fiscal year 2002 is $22 million.
Though good nutrition may seem like a luxury for those with limited resources, quite the opposite is true, according to Joyce Counihan, Extension associate and coordinator of the Nutrition Network. For the elderly, good nutrition can mean life or death. And good nutrition is important to the academic performance of school-age children.
With the recent unemployment increase and economic decline, more families are needing assistance in meeting food needs.
“There’s definitely an increase in food stamp participation, and only 60 percent of those who are eligible participate in the program,” Counihan said. “So we know there are a lot of people out there who need the service, but don’t make the application.”
Through a number of nutrition education programs, Extension family and consumer education agents empower those with limited resources to get the best nutrition value for their food dollars. For infants, that can be a diet of mother’s milk, as opposed to infant formula.
Extension’s breast-feeding support program offers new mothers one-on-one support on breast-feeding their infants from a trained paraprofessional. Infants benefit from nature’s most perfect diet, and mothers save the expense of infant formula and bottles.
Color Me Healthy is a nutrition and physical activity program aimed at preschool children. Cooperative Extension agents provide a half-day training program to teach child care providers how to use a kit containing enjoyable, easy, healthy activities. Last year, agents in 35 North Carolina counties trained more than 750 child care providers in using the curriculum.
During the summer, 4-H FUN (Fundamentals for Understanding Nutrition) day camps help teach limited-resource elementary and middle school students about nutrition. Through study demonstrations, taste testing, hands-on food preparation and food science experiments, youth learn to improve their health through proper nutrition. More than 2,600 youth were served in the program last year, and 83 teens were trained to be peer nutrition educators to work with younger children.
Eat to Compete is a program that targets students who receive free or reduced-price lunch. In Gaston County, 377 youth ages 5 to 15 participated in the program last year through after-school care programs offered by Boys and Girls Clubs. In addition to instruction, the program provides take-home information for parents. And Master Gardeners help each site create a demonstration garden for growing vegetables.
Older adults, the state’s fastest-growing population, can be susceptible to malnutrition. To help this population improve their nutrition, Cooperative Extension agents conduct a training program called Partners in Wellness. Sessions include presentations, taste testings and demonstrations, as well as hands-on and skill-building activities.
Participants use their new knowledge to develop a plan to improve their own nutrition. In 1999-2000, approximately 1,250 adults from 42 counties participated in Partners in Wellness.
Out for Lunch is a program that targets adults, preschoolers and young children who are food stamp eligible. The program teaches adults about economical food selection, preparation and storage, family nutrition and food budgeting. Children who accompany their parents to the sessions have opportunities to try new foods and learn simple food preparation skills.
In addition, the network is promoting Strive for 5, a program that encourages adults to eat five servings of fruits and vegetables each day and to exercise five days a week for at least 30 minutes. The program is aimed at improving health and nutrition.
Cooperative Extension conducts all of these education programs in conjunction with other agencies to avoid duplication and to maximize resources. Network education programs help those with limited resources get the best nutrition for their food dollars.
—Natalie
Hampton
