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Teaching Nutrition... and Much More

Most of us have the option to make healthy and nutritious food choices. We may not always eat the way we should, but at least we have the opportunity to make food choices. But what if you didn’t know where your next meal was going to come from because you ran out of food stamps three days ago? Would you even think about whether the food you are eating is nutritious as long as you had food on the table?

Probably not, says Mary McFerren, program administrator for Virginia’s Family Nutrition Programs. Nutrition can be one of the last things someone thinks about if they are on a limited income, she says. “You are concerned about paying the rent and how you are going to feed your children,” she says.

To compound the problem even further, reports show that families of low socioeconomic status suffer disproportionately from poor health. These are just some of the challenges that McFerren and her team of 105 program assistants deal with on a daily basis. McFerren administers the Family Nutrition Program that includes USDA’s Food Stamp Nutrition Education (FSNE) Program and the Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP) for Virginia Cooperative Extension.

   

The FSNE program, commonly referred to in Virginia as the Smart Choices Nutrition Education Program (SCNEP), provides nutrition education to help low-income families make healthy food choices within a limited budget and pursue a physically active lifestyle. The EFNEP program, which is funded by the USDA’s Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service, also assists limited resource audiences to gain knowledge, skills, and new behaviors in order to improve personal development and the total family diet and nutritional well-being.

“The Family Nutrition Program is a vital component of our overall family and consumer sciences effort,” says Karen Gehrt, associate director for family and consumer sciences. “These programs have a proven track record of reaching the limited resource audience, and they also serve as a conduit for connecting that audience to other Extension resources.”

Program assistants and volunteers who have been trained by Extension faculty members conduct a variety of nutrition programs to reach their target audiences. They work with clients who range from young children and single mothers to senior citizens and disabled individuals. Many clients are employed, but struggle to make ends meet and fall below the poverty level.

According to McFerren, most are very eager to learn and want to become more self-sufficient.

The program assistants are often referred to qualified participants by other community agencies. Depending on the client’s situation, the program assistant may provide one-on-one training or encourage participation in a group educational program. These programs typically are conducted over a series of weeks and cover a variety of topics including nutrition, meal planning, shopping, and cooking.

Program participants participate in pre- and post-program tests to determine their level of comprehension. Of the 6,333 adults who completed a comprehensive nutrition program in 2007 as part of SCNEP, 78 percent showed improvement in food-resource management practices, 84 percent showed improvement in nutritional practices, and 86 percent demonstrated acceptable food-safety practices at the completion of the program. Similar results were achieved for adults participating through EFNEP.

McFerren attributes the programs’ successes to the strong partnerships that have been established with agencies that they serve. “These partnerships help us more effectively and efficiently reach vulnerable populations in the state,” she says. “We work with several local organizations including the Department of Social Services and other government agencies, food banks, hospitals and medical clinics, schools, the faith-based community, Head Start, the American Heart Association, and many other local organizations.”

Collaboration with the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank has provided Kaye Stiltner, family nutrition program assistant in Augusta County, additional opportunities to reach individuals in her area.
Stiltner, who has been a program assistant for six years, conducts a Super Pantry Program for the food bank’s new clients. Over four to six weeks she provides a series of nutrition lessons along with cooking instruction. Each week, participants are provided with boxes of food to take home.

“Many times clients are hesitant to try new foods because they are afraid that their family will not like them,” says Stiltner. “This program allows them to try new recipes at home without using their food-stamp dollars.”

One of the biggest challenges is getting the clients to the first meeting, says Stiltner. “Once they come, the return rate is usually good. Sometimes they bring their friends and the class size grows.”

Not only do the agencies help connect program assistants with qualified clients, they also provide essential matching support either through in-kind contributions or through volunteer time. The funding that Extension receives to implement the program from the USDA relies significantly on the amount of matching support that can be secured. Volunteers contributed more than $650,000 worth of time in 2007.

Although nutrition education is the programs’ main goal, McFerren says it’s much more than just helping clients to eat well. It is about helping them become more self-sufficient.

Dottie O’Quinn, family nutrition program assistant from Washington Country, knows that she is making a difference and believes in the program.

“I worked with a young mother who was being abused by her alcoholic husband and her children were taken away,” says O’Quinn. “The house she was living in was completely infested with roaches. I worked with her to improve her self-esteem and help her get on her feet. Today she has a part-time job and has been a volunteer with our program for several years. Knowing that I can make a difference brings me back for another day.”