KA 703. Nutrition Education and Behavior

“Living With Wildfire”

In response to the Track Fire that burned a total of 27,792 acres near Raton and in southern Colorado last June and July, the home economist presented a program, called “Living With Wildfire”, to 16 Extension club members who were in attendance at their September club meetings in Raton and Roy. University of Nevada CES materials were utilized to help the members to know what to do if wildfire threatens their homes. Handouts included a wildfire evacuation checklist, tips to prepare ahead for possible evacuation and wildfire, as well as a handout outlining steps to clean-up after a fire and address food safety concerns that was forwarded to home economists by the NMSU-CES Health Specialist. At least four of the Raton members experienced first-hand the hurried, stressful feelings associated with being notified by law enforcement and firefighters to quickly gather a few belongings and evacuate their homes. Members commented on the importance and timeliness of the presentation which will allow them to prepare more carefully prepare for a natural disaster such as the Track Fire.
In addition, the home economist prepared this year’s Colfax County State Fair booth to include news articles and photos from the Track Fire incident to show the strong cooperation between community members, law enforcement, firefighters, county, state and federal agencies and government, brand inspectors, businesses and others during and after the fire. The county booth received second place honors.

“Colfax County Food Protection Alliance / Task Force”

In April of 2011, the home economist participated in Food Transportation Vulnerability training in Albuquerque that was jointly offered by the SW Border Food Safety and Defense Center, the University of Tennessee and the US Department of Homeland Security. Subsequent food transportation and safety training at the NMSU – CES Can It training later in April encouraged the home economist to initiate the Colfax County Food Protection Alliance / Task Force in May of 2011.
The introductory meeting was attended by eight (8) individuals representing the NM Environment Department, Head Start, Miner’s Colfax Medical Center, Higgins Environment Consulting, the NM Livestock Board, WIC, the NM Department of Health, and K-Bob’s Restaurant. Nine additional invitations were extended to food related organizations, agencies and businesses. The group discussed the background leading to the development of this county, “grass roots” based food protection alliance; the purpose of the alliance to develop a network to better respond to food protection and safety incidents; resources that could be used to address a food safety event; potential threats to our food supply along the I-25 corridor and training or educational needs for the alliance and the general public. Additional partners or members to the alliance were also identified at this first meeting.

The county alliance met again in July and September adding five (5) new members from the Raton HS Culinary Arts Department, the Raton Middle School Family and Consumer Science Department, the local American Red Cross, and the First Street Farmer’s Market to the group. During this time the home economist submitted a news article, “Busting Food Safety Myths”, to the Raton Range on behalf of the alliance as an educational piece for the general public and spoke on KRTN Radio’s morning talk show, “This, That and The Other”, to address the listeria outbreak found in cantaloupes grown near Colfax County. Food safety materials were also posted within the City of Raton display case at Roundhouse Park and brochures were given to high school FCS students in Raton and farmer’s market customers. Additional food safety information was displayed by the home economist at the Angel Fire Wellness Fair in June and the Colfax County Fair in August. Three members and the home economist have also registered for the 2nd Annual State Food Protection Alliance Conference to be held in November of 2011. This will allow for further development of the Colfax County Alliance.

“Canning Basics”

In September of 2011, the home economist conducted two food preservation workshops to meet individual’s increased interest in home canning. While the first class was initially limited to 15 students, a total of 19 participated in the class held at the Raton High School Culinary Arts classroom on a Saturday morning. Seven (7) additional individuals
participated in the second class offered during a weekday evening the following week. Skill levels ranged from those that had never canned to those that had only made freezer jams to a few that had previously canned years ago, but needed a refresher course. Participants included a 14 year old 4-H member and her mother, a grandmother canning with her granddaughter, as well as friends, co-workers and three men who were interested in canning at home. While the majority of the participants were from Raton, others traveled from Maxwell, Springer and Las Vegas to attend.

The first class worked together in small groups to make peach jam and zucchini relish using the hot water bath method and stewed tomatoes using the often feared pressure canner, which proved to be a simple process. The second class gained hands-on experience in using the high acid preservation method for apples and low acid, pressure canning for carrots, with some participant’s even venturing to “fancy pack” the carrots as a future county fair exhibit.

Educational materials included Jarden Home Foods canning guides, the Ball Canning Book, NMSU – CES canning guides and food safety / preservation from the Southwest Border Food Safety and Defense Center in Las Cruces. Previously secured bio-security funds from the Defense Center allowed the home economist to purchase newly developed canning products, supplies and equipment from Jarden Home Foods to be shared with participants as class incentives. The funds were also used to purchase quantities of the most recent Ball Canning Book to have on hand for participants and others contacting the Extension Office with canning questions. Participants also sampled a variety of canned relishes, salas, and jams along with a berry freezer jam as part of the refreshments offered.

Overall, class evaluations showed that 90% of participants rated the “usefulness of information” to be very useful, with 95% of participants gaining a high amount of knowledge, and 95% ranking the quality of the presentation as being excellent. Evaluation comments included, “Wonderful! and well organized class that allowed me to become more knowledgeable and confident”, “Great class on canning – Thanks a lot!! – Please have more”, and “Wish we had more time – had very much fun – enjoyed the class very much”.

“Cheeseburger Nutrition”

Basic nutrition concepts are important for elementary school youth as they learn to make their own meal and snack choices while away from home. Young students grasp the concepts of the basic food groups, and foods within those groups, best with hands-on activity. Each year that the home economist presents this lesson to students, they are asked to help “build” a large fabric cheeseburger model to illustrate the five food groups found in the cheeseburger. Twenty-one first grade students from Longfellow Elementary School in Raton participated in this year’s presentation. The students had fun learning about the new MyPlate and MyPyramid guidelines as they relate to a variety of food choices. Basic nutrition handouts and easy-to-make recipes were given to students to take home to share with their families. After the presentation, the students enjoyed “food group kabobs” made with ham, cheese, bell pepper, pineapple and bread cubes and received fruit and vegetables stickers. The classroom teacher reported that students seemed to make a conscience effort to choose healthier foods at least while at school.

Kitchen Creations Part II Pilot Curriculum

In order to address the requests of Kitchen Creations Diabetic Cooking School participants to conduct further diabetes classes, the home economist scheduled a series of three classes in May and June as part of the Kitchen Creations Part II – Pilot Curriculum written by an NMSU graduate student. Five diabetics from Raton and Springer participated in the class held at the High Plains REC building in Raton.

The first class served as a review of the 50/50 method and other basic concepts learned in Kitchen Creations Part I along with additional information on managing complications from diabetes and creating meal plans. “Dining With Dignity – A Guide To Social Eating” was the focus of discussion during the next class, which included sub-topics on eating triggers and coping skills, menu selection when dining out, and eating healthy at buffets and potlucks. Educational concepts learned were further reinforced by an activity utilizing local restaurant menus and selecting healthy meals. The curriculum ended with a lesson on the importance of cardiovascular health for diabetics, called “A Happy Heart”. Participants learned more about the American Heart Association’s dietary guidelines for heart health as well as facts about fats and how to get started with an exercise program in order to lower blood glucose, blood pressure, cholesterol, and A1c levels for optimum health.

Although the curriculum was designed for those that had previously taken Kitchen Creations Part I, two of the participants had yet to attend. Nonetheless, they still acquired a basic understanding of identifying and counting carbohydrates, concerns about amounts and types of fat in their diet and planning meals at home or when dining out. The three participants that had attended the first series of classes felt this curriculum was a great “refresher” course which allowed them to “get back on track” in managing their diabetes. Participants also reported that they especially liked the meal planning exercise and the restaurant menu activity.