Note: This site is for reviewing legacy plan of work data from 2007-2011. If you are looking for the current plan of work interface, visit pow.nmsu.edu.

Impact Report

For plan KA 703. Nutrition Education and Behavior (Shiprock Tribal Extension)
Date October 31, 2011, 9:36 pm
For Objective Medium-term Show medium-term objectives
Impact Report Presentation on Motivation and Self-Esteem Agent was again invited by the Shiprock Boys and Girls Club Director to do a presentation on motivation and self-esteem to the youth. The request resulted from the high rise of gang activities and prevalence of suicide that the director felt this topic would be beneficial to the youth especially it being Spring Break week. There were fourteen youth in attendance for this presentation. The youth learned the definitions of motivation and self-esteem. Part of the presentation was sharing biographies of athletes, quotes, and doing an interactive activity. Also a homework assignment was given for them to share what they learn on the topics with their family (parents and siblings, relatives, etc.) as a way to increase interaction and communication between family members, especially their parents. The presentation lifted their spirits and said they will return to school with a positive attitude and behavior. Kitchen Creations Every spring, NMSU tribal extension provides a program called “Kitchen Creations” for the Shiprock community. There were four classes held: the first class in April 2011, had 11 participants; second class had 8 participants; third class had 11 and final class had a full 11 participants. The classes teach participants about Diabetes and how to cook healthy meals with innovative fun and fast recipes. The Agent collaborated with Northern Navajo Medical Center’s Diabetes program so they provided a diabetes educator to teach from a curriculum. Participants learn about sugars and sugar substitutes; how to read labels when buying groceries; how to portion their meals using the 50/50 plate; how to use the “Food Pyramid” guide; and encouraged use of spices instead of the traditional use of salt for better taste. Informational handouts were given to participants as they also did hands-on cooking in preparing meals. Each participant had the opportunity to prepare meals from the Diabetes recipe book. This class encourage a healthy way of cooking to prevent further diabetes. It needs to be mentioned that due to funding cuts with NMSU tribal extension program, the Agent had to find an alternative way to buy food items for the meal preparations. Agent began seeking sources and was fortunate to find one which was the local grocery store, City Market. The deal was for City Market to provide a $50.00 gift certificate to buy grocery each time the class met. This also offset having to charge the participants a fee to attend the classes. All in all, the classes turned out successful where everyone benefited from this project. Can It- Fall Canning There was a widespread interest from the community for “canning” classes. So, the Agent arranged a fall canning schedule. Eight class dates were scheduled ranging from August to October 2011. The categories included the following: water bath, pressure canning for jams and jellies, fruit, and tomatoes. This was a first for the community which included a small fee for attendees. The first class was held on August 22th with six adults in attendance; the second class on August 25th had six adults; the third class on September 1st had eight adults, the fourth class on September 15th had five adults; and the fifth class on September 19th had five adults. The Ball Blue Book guide on preserving and the USDA canning guide to preservation were utilized for teaching. At each class session, handouts were given to participants as well as recipes and evaluation cards. Also given to the class were meat thermometers along with refrigerator thermometers. Prior to class instruction, the participants were given a brief introduction piece to share with the group on themselves and their experience, if any, with canning methods. At the end of each class was a question and answer period and time given for participants to share what they learned. The classes were successful that more classes had to be added to accommodate the interests. Native Foods contest Annually, the Native Women in Agriculture conference is held in the local area. In June 2011, the conference was held at McGee Park Multi-purpose building in Bloomfield, NM. Since the Agent serves on the committee of the Native Women in Agriculture, it provided for the opportunity to plan and host the first Native Foods contest at the Conference. It was something new and only two participants entered the contest. They each prepared traditional foods along with recipes which were judged. Afterwards, they were presented with awards that were donated from local organizations. It was a fun experience, even for the judges who enjoyed the event and voiced their interest in having this become a part of the Conference for the following year and thereafter. Due to the overwhelming positive response and it being a learning experience, the Agent will plan for it again. This time there will be advance advertising and a variety of categories included along with respective rules of each Native food entries.