Sunday, April 29, 2012
Thursday 4/26
Thursday we were supposed to meet Karen Dion from the Ohio Board of Dietetics, but unfortunately she didn't show, so Dr. Holben showed us around the website and gave us an idea of what it's all about. The main purpose of the Ohio Board of Dietetics is to protect the people. The board is mainly funded through licensure fees. The executive director must be an RD, as well as the 5 board members. I thought it was weird that even if two board members meet for something it is considered to be a board meeting, but I see how it would be suspicious for two members being too close and making decisions that impact our field. I think it is a good thing that the field of dietetics in Ohio is strict, it protects the practice and prevents the public from being misinformed. It was a shame that Karen Dion couldn't make it, but after viewing the website for the Ohio Board of Dietetics it is clearly a good resource to go to when wondering about what is going with the law and board meetings in our state.
Tuesday 4/24
Francie Astrom visited our class on Tuesday to talking about what she does in WellWorks. It was nice to meet her because I've heard many people in nutrition club talk about her before. From the WellWorks website, their mission is "to be the highest quality wellness program for our customers and to combine academic and experiential learning for our students." The programs offered through WellWorks is funded by university wellness funds, memberships fees, and through the services they offer like massages and nutrition counseling. A registered dietitian is what Francie said was most important for the success of WellWorks. Dietitians provide up to date information to clients, review and interpret current literature, act as a resource and change agent to staff and members. Compared to our last speaker, Francie's role at WellWorks seems to be much more involved in making positive changes in peoples lives through health and wellness.
Monday, April 23, 2012
Thursday 4/19
Thursday's class was spent by each student talking about their agency assignment to the rest of the class. It was neat to see how many different programs are available to people in need. It is important for us to know about these programs so we can direct clients who are in need to them. It was also interesting to see how some programs have grown or downsized over the years, for instance, the special milk program isn't as important as it once was due to the growing school lunch program.
My program was the Senior and WIC Farmer's Market Nutrition Program. It is an extension of the WIC and SNAP programs where the participants can get vouchers to use at farmer's markets to get local, fresh produce and support local agriculture. My grandmother receives these vouchers, and I find it funny because I don't think she fully gets the concept of the program. Whenever I'm in town she will use her vouchers and give me a few peppers, or some other vegetable I like, and when I ask her why she doesn't keep them for herself she says "I don't like going to the farmer's market, all of the stuff is too expensive"...even though she's getting FREE vouchers. Truly a "LOL" moment. Maybe now that I know more about the program I can sit down and explain it to her and she will start using the vouchers more often. That about sums up Thursday's class, it was beautiful out and we got out of class early. YAY! I'm pledging to be a better student this week and actually blog on time..stay tuned:)
-Alex
My program was the Senior and WIC Farmer's Market Nutrition Program. It is an extension of the WIC and SNAP programs where the participants can get vouchers to use at farmer's markets to get local, fresh produce and support local agriculture. My grandmother receives these vouchers, and I find it funny because I don't think she fully gets the concept of the program. Whenever I'm in town she will use her vouchers and give me a few peppers, or some other vegetable I like, and when I ask her why she doesn't keep them for herself she says "I don't like going to the farmer's market, all of the stuff is too expensive"...even though she's getting FREE vouchers. Truly a "LOL" moment. Maybe now that I know more about the program I can sit down and explain it to her and she will start using the vouchers more often. That about sums up Thursday's class, it was beautiful out and we got out of class early. YAY! I'm pledging to be a better student this week and actually blog on time..stay tuned:)
-Alex
Tuesday 4/17
Hey there!! I'm late again on the blogging this week, that's what I get for going home again this weekend..It's so easy to forget when I'm gone all weekend.
Anyways....
Tuesday in class we had our first guest speaker, Nick Claussen, from Jobs and Family Services. The department he works for is federally funded and helps low-income families with services like job training, child care, food assistance (SNAP), cash assistance, etc. We learned that the department is monitored by state and local governments. They check for things like errors in paperwork, abuse of benefits, etc. The main part of Nick's discussion was on SNAP and food insecurity in Athens county. I learned lots of fun little info bits that I had never known before. One, for example, being that SNAP benefits are only meant to meet 75% of the person's/family's needs for the month. I guess it makes sense ("Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program"...duh!), but I had always assumed that people just got a certain amount for the month based on household size, which they do, but they benefits should theoretically last for 3 weeks. Of course, Nick informed us that some people can be quite resourceful with their benefits and can make it stretch the whole month.
I must admit, I used to be quite judging of people on SNAP because when I used to work in a grocery store many people would pile in during the beginning of the month with loads of junk food such as chips, pop, bologna, and various sale items. Through this class, and with our talk with Nick, I've realized that people receiving SNAP benefits are at or under 130% of the poverty line. Also, now that I am here at school and do my own grocery shopping, I do see that the cheaper foods tend to be junk, and when people are trying to stretch their benefits as far as they can, it's cheaper to buy a $1 "tv dinner" than fresh fruits, vegetables, and a good cut of meat to prepare.
After Nick talked, we watched a really cool video about a "Farm to School" program in Minnesota, where a school district completely changed how their lunches were prepared. They went from conventional frozen, re-heat convenience lunches, to having fresh fruits and vegetables grown in a school garden along with other local produce and even meat! I was truly thrilled and inspired by this clip. A program such as that would absolutely be one I would love to start in my hometown, or anywhere for that matter.
I definitely left Tuesday's class with a new perspective on SNAP recipients and also with a mind full of ideas for the future!!:)
Anyways....
Tuesday in class we had our first guest speaker, Nick Claussen, from Jobs and Family Services. The department he works for is federally funded and helps low-income families with services like job training, child care, food assistance (SNAP), cash assistance, etc. We learned that the department is monitored by state and local governments. They check for things like errors in paperwork, abuse of benefits, etc. The main part of Nick's discussion was on SNAP and food insecurity in Athens county. I learned lots of fun little info bits that I had never known before. One, for example, being that SNAP benefits are only meant to meet 75% of the person's/family's needs for the month. I guess it makes sense ("Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program"...duh!), but I had always assumed that people just got a certain amount for the month based on household size, which they do, but they benefits should theoretically last for 3 weeks. Of course, Nick informed us that some people can be quite resourceful with their benefits and can make it stretch the whole month.
I must admit, I used to be quite judging of people on SNAP because when I used to work in a grocery store many people would pile in during the beginning of the month with loads of junk food such as chips, pop, bologna, and various sale items. Through this class, and with our talk with Nick, I've realized that people receiving SNAP benefits are at or under 130% of the poverty line. Also, now that I am here at school and do my own grocery shopping, I do see that the cheaper foods tend to be junk, and when people are trying to stretch their benefits as far as they can, it's cheaper to buy a $1 "tv dinner" than fresh fruits, vegetables, and a good cut of meat to prepare.
After Nick talked, we watched a really cool video about a "Farm to School" program in Minnesota, where a school district completely changed how their lunches were prepared. They went from conventional frozen, re-heat convenience lunches, to having fresh fruits and vegetables grown in a school garden along with other local produce and even meat! I was truly thrilled and inspired by this clip. A program such as that would absolutely be one I would love to start in my hometown, or anywhere for that matter.
I definitely left Tuesday's class with a new perspective on SNAP recipients and also with a mind full of ideas for the future!!:)
Friday, April 13, 2012
Thursday 4/12
On Thursday, the highlight of the class for me was watching the video on a farmers' market intervention for people living in a city in South Carolina. This was interesting for me because my program for the agency assignment is the WIC and Senior Farmers' Market Nutrition Program. It was great to see people in the community working alongside health professionals to organize a program that provided local, fresh produce to people in the community. I thought it was genius to locate the market next to the clinic, and that people visiting the clinic received vouchers for free produce--it couldn't be made more convenient for people to get high quality produce!
Some of the footage they showed in the video led me to believe that business wasn't always booming, which made me think that there is still room for improvement in this program. Perhaps they will move to the next stage of the policy cycle and evaluate what they can do with the farmers' market program in their city to get more people to attend?
Some of the footage they showed in the video led me to believe that business wasn't always booming, which made me think that there is still room for improvement in this program. Perhaps they will move to the next stage of the policy cycle and evaluate what they can do with the farmers' market program in their city to get more people to attend?
Tuesday 4/10
Tuesday in class we went over health and nutrition policy and we got to watch a funny video clip on how a bill becomes a law. There are many steps between defining the problem and policy implementation, but I believe that our government is set up that way to make sure that the programs and services we offer are truly necessary and working. If they are not, or if the program becomes irrelevant then there is always the "policy evaluation" step of the process that can determine if the program should be terminated or re-vamped.
I'm sad to say that the focus of Tuesday's lecture was a bit dry, but nonetheless it was an important topic to brush over to appreciate all of the programs we will be focusing on during week 4.
I'm sad to say that the focus of Tuesday's lecture was a bit dry, but nonetheless it was an important topic to brush over to appreciate all of the programs we will be focusing on during week 4.
Monday, April 9, 2012
Food Insecurity on 4/5
On Thursday's class we continued to discuss food insecurity, where I offered a story of something I had recently witnessed myself...
As I was returning to my apartment from the community garden on Tuesday, I saw a lady rummaging through our trash bins in the parking lot. It saddened me because I automatically assumed she was looking for food, or items for recycling to get money. It was obvious she was struggling; her clothes were old and dirty, and her car was equally as disheveled. It was eye-opening to see something I just learned in class in the real world. It was another experience that makes me thankful for all I have, and encourages me to do more to give back.
On a happier note...
We also decided what each group's population would be for the community garden. Group C's population will be people following a DASH diet. We all decided that we should grow foods rich in magnesium, potassium, calcium, and fiber. Many ideas for the exact food we should grow were brought to the table. From flax to spinach, there were numerous options, and we still haven't come to a set decision yet. I'm sure within the next week or so I can report a complete list.
All this gardening talk in class in inspiring to try some gardening of my own outside of class. A major encouraging factor was learning that with a $75 investment in seeds and supplies that a garden can yield $600 worth of produce. This is a big benefit to me, since produce can get expensive.
We learned at the community garden on Tuesday that if we would be here over the summer we could keep up the garden, which is now something I am considering! It would be fun to keep this project going outside of class.
Looking forward to see what this week has in store for us!
-Alex:)
As I was returning to my apartment from the community garden on Tuesday, I saw a lady rummaging through our trash bins in the parking lot. It saddened me because I automatically assumed she was looking for food, or items for recycling to get money. It was obvious she was struggling; her clothes were old and dirty, and her car was equally as disheveled. It was eye-opening to see something I just learned in class in the real world. It was another experience that makes me thankful for all I have, and encourages me to do more to give back.
On a happier note...
We also decided what each group's population would be for the community garden. Group C's population will be people following a DASH diet. We all decided that we should grow foods rich in magnesium, potassium, calcium, and fiber. Many ideas for the exact food we should grow were brought to the table. From flax to spinach, there were numerous options, and we still haven't come to a set decision yet. I'm sure within the next week or so I can report a complete list.
All this gardening talk in class in inspiring to try some gardening of my own outside of class. A major encouraging factor was learning that with a $75 investment in seeds and supplies that a garden can yield $600 worth of produce. This is a big benefit to me, since produce can get expensive.
We learned at the community garden on Tuesday that if we would be here over the summer we could keep up the garden, which is now something I am considering! It would be fun to keep this project going outside of class.
Looking forward to see what this week has in store for us!
-Alex:)
Community Garden on 4/3
Sorry for being a bit behind on blogging this week, it was a crazy weekend as I drove home for the weekend to visit family for Easter. Better late then never I guess!
Anyways....
Tuesday was great because we finally got to check out the community garden we will be laboring in for the rest of the quarter. Our plot was much smaller then I has imagined it to be, but I guess that will probably be to our advantage, since gardening is harder then it sounds. Here are a few pictures of our plot. Our group got right to business with weeding, as you can see!
Our section of the plot had lots of worms, and even leftover potatoes and carrots, so it looks like we have good soil to work with!
After Tuesday, I was looking forward to our next meeting on Thursday where we would decide out population and possible fruits and vegetable to grow.
Anyways....
Tuesday was great because we finally got to check out the community garden we will be laboring in for the rest of the quarter. Our plot was much smaller then I has imagined it to be, but I guess that will probably be to our advantage, since gardening is harder then it sounds. Here are a few pictures of our plot. Our group got right to business with weeding, as you can see!
Our section of the plot had lots of worms, and even leftover potatoes and carrots, so it looks like we have good soil to work with!
After Tuesday, I was looking forward to our next meeting on Thursday where we would decide out population and possible fruits and vegetable to grow.
Sunday, April 1, 2012
Day 2 of Class: Food Insecurity
For our second day of class we watched a clip from the movie Erin
Brockovich, which was a good segue into Dr. Holben's lecture on food
insecurity. I think that as nutrition majors we can be so hardwired to
tell people things like "eat fresh fruits and vegetables" or "make sure
your buying lean cuts of meat" that we forget that the people we may be
working with someday might not have enough money to put food on the
table every night. When someone is choosing between a $4 bag of apples
or four TV dinners for $1 each, most likely the TV dinner that will
feed the family that night will win over the apples. I find it crazy
that something so processed as a frozen dinner can cost less than
apples that simply gets picked, bagged, and sent to the store.
 | ||||
| Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs |
Overall, Thursday's class was eye-opening and made me step back and realize all I have to be thankful for. This topic has made me more sensitive to what other people may be going through, which I will take into consideration in the future when I am working with the public.
First day of class
After the first class on Tuesday for community nutrition I can say that I am excited for the next 10 weeks. At first I assumed that this class would me mainly lecture, but I assumed wrong--I should have known, since it's Dr. Holben teaching us. I'm most eager to begin the community garden project with my group. I have always had an interest in gardening, but have not had the time or space to make it happen. It will also be nice to know that our hard work in class will be benefiting people of Athens who are in need.
It has been my hope all along to eventually have a career where I am informing large groups of people on the benefits of healthy eating, and inspiring them to make a life-long commitment to wellness. I believe that this class will be full of fun projects and speakers that will peak my interests and help me to build skills that will be useful in my future career.
Overall I think this quarter will be fun, and I am ready for the projects ahead! :)
-Alex
It has been my hope all along to eventually have a career where I am informing large groups of people on the benefits of healthy eating, and inspiring them to make a life-long commitment to wellness. I believe that this class will be full of fun projects and speakers that will peak my interests and help me to build skills that will be useful in my future career.
Overall I think this quarter will be fun, and I am ready for the projects ahead! :)
-Alex
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