KA 703. Nutrition Education and Behavior (McKinley County Nutrition Plan of Work )

12 Teen Moms at Central High learn about "Suppers Made Simple". Learning about childhood overweight, physical activity, encourage inclusion of fruits and vegetables, milk or water instead of soft drinks and meal preparation was the emphesis of nine workshops which began in September and finished in May.
The moms attended nine 90 minute sessions offered by the Home Economist in McKinley. Activities included physical activities, MyPyramid, meal preparation, and take home materials. Social and economic activities saving money on food bill, choosing healthy food products and improving eating habits were also cover during the lessons. Moms gained health and nutrition education and useful life skill training.

“Food Mania” Workshop was held at Washington Elementary on November 16, 2006 10:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. PAT (Parents as Teachers) learned tips for feeding young children, making mealtimes pleasant, meal planning, they learned about MyPyramid recommendations, and viewed Portion Distortion power point. 13 parents attended the workshop and participated in several hands-on activities provided by CES Home Economist. Evaluation showed that participants gained useful nutrition formation, serving size information from MyPramid, and how to reduce stress at the table. Follow up with JoAnn Bitsilly showed that the workshop was very successful and participants gained good useful tips for people who live on a very limited budget.

ECHO Food Distribution Services and Midwest NM Community Action Program offer Holiday Nutrition and Food Safety Workshop to recipients. Holiday Nutrition and Food Safety was presented by McKinley County CES staff on November 14, 2006. The workshop began with the presentation of Portion Distortion and was followed by nutrition tips and recipes especially for food items received through ECHO. Participants received several Food Safety handouts including one on cross contamination. Evaluation showed that most recipients were not aware of cross contamination. Several said that they had tried some of the recipes that were given to them. They liked that the recipes were used with items they receive from ECHO which will change some disposing of items, because they don’t know how to prepare it

“Just Move It” health fair at Church Rock has good attendance. About 210 Navajo adult male and female participated in the activities sponsored by health agencies. Country style Aerobics, Turkey Walk, Diabetes testing, Vision testing, Bone Density testing, Meth/Drug abuse and Kitchen Creations were the main attractions. Community members gained knowledge about nutrition, food safety, and diabetes prevention form the CES staff. “Just Move It” was held at Church Rock Chapter on November 15, 2006 starting with the Traditional Turkey Walk at 10:00 a.m. followed by health fair and lunch for all attendees.

PAT (Parents as Teachers)and Day care providers learn about childhood nutrition with "Food Mania" Series. Recent statistics show that an increasing number of children are becoming obese. Genetics, parental modeling, a lack of physical activity, and poor dietary patterns are some of the reasons for the obese increase . The parental job is more difficult when snack food and fast food outlets use bright colors and toys to entice children towards poor food choices. "Food Mania" teaches parents and children creative ways of preparing fun attractive and nutritious healthy snacks.
Raw vegetables and low fat dip, plain cheerios, granola, fresh fruits, and nuts mixed with dried fruit can be combined to make simple healthy snacks. The Day Care providers used their creative skills to create recipes that even a child could prepare. Twenty two people men and women attended the 4 sessions and they were excited to share what they learned with their students, families and friends. Healthy food is available to us, all we have to do is promote it, take portioned servings and reduce overeating. Evaluation feedback was very positive from the group and plans are already in progress for a follow up session with the holidays in mind. Some of the food items were donated by the Gallup Community Pantry who are also involved in "Food for Kids".