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

RMCHCS New Diabetes Patients
Five new patients completed the Kitchen Creation series at the Gallup Community Pantry. The learning experience was very helpful to new diabetes patients. Pat Sheley answered their questions and provided them with new information on 50/50 method, carbohydrates, the importance of eating vegetables and fruit and using herbs and spices instead of salt and fat for preparing meals. Classes were held on January 12, 15, 21, 22, 2009. Participants had many questions answered about their new diagnosis.

Rock Springs 7th Day Adventist
14 members of the 7th Day Adventist were introduced to Kitchen Creations. The series was co-taught by Pat Sheley and CES Home Economist. The classes were held at the 7th Day Adventist Community Bldg. 6 male and 8 female completed four classes and received the 30 Minute Diabetes Cookbook provided by CES staff. Since some of the people in the group are Vegans we substituted soy or tofu products, and turkey for red meat. The class met on four evenings starting November 3, 11, 17, 24 and completed the session on February 23, 2009 at the KC Reunion. Evaluation showed that participants enjoyed the series and gained knowledge from Pat Sheley dietician. Each participant was given several current handouts that are provided by KC Specialist, Karen Halderson. A mutual learning experience was gained by all.

Pinehill Kitchen Creations
12 FACE (Family and Children Education) program parents completed the “Kitchen Creations” (a school for people with diabetes and their families). Louise Ingram dietician and I provided resources, hands-on cooking, and tasting experiences for the group. The participants gained knowledge about 50/50 method, they prepared several recipes from the New Mexico Recipes Book, and the participants were required to fill out evaluations. Evaluation showed that the group now uses the Food Guide Pyramid to plan a day’s meal, they are more aware of food portions, use the 50/50 method to control the amount of carbohydrates in a serving, read food labels, and use more herbs and spices to flavor foods instead of salt and fat for cooking. The classes were held on October 16, 23, 30 and Nov. 6, 2008.

Wellness Warriors
This year the group met at Rehoboth Christian School 12 students attended the session entitled 4-H Garden Project. Wellness Warriors TLC Camp is an 8 week psycho-educational group program for overweight adolescents with the context of an 8 week summer physical activity program. The students meet certain criteria and are picked by their MD to attend Wellness Warriors. The project is designed to help them learn about the importance of nutrition, health, and exercise. On June 12, 2009 the students begin the session by visiting a garden project already in process. They learned about different kinds of gardens (raised or sunken bed, open gardens, etc.), they learned the importance of labeling and dating row, required rows for different types of vegetables and what kind of vegetables grow in the McKinley area. They were each given the assignment to draw their own Garden Plot, include vegetable/fruit rows and label as to the kind of vegetable/fruit they would be growing. On completion of their assignment they would exhibit their Garden Plots at the closing session. The students obtained pamphlets from the 4-H agent on soil, water, and cultivating gardens, they were given time to do some gardening research on the internet at the Gallup Library. 12 students completed their assignment and presented their project the evening of June 30, 2009 during the family session. Other topics included in the program were Nutrition Macronutrients/Wish lists, Love letters/weightism/ body map, Nutrition 50/50 plate/needs, Hunger scale/”Super Size”, Nutrition : Labels/Pleasure Map, “worry wallet”/connect with others, and “worry sallet”/review/finish TLC program.
Evaluation showed that attitudes, awareness and knowledge were gained by the students. The collaborating agencies were Carole Conley, MSW; Kirsten Bennett MS, RD, LD; Chenoa Bah Stilwell-Jensen MS and McKinley Home Economist

The Regional Early Care and Education Conference held on July 11, 2009 included an afternoon session for childcare providers. The session entitled Dealing with Stress was presented to 28 Child Care Providers. The participants learned he difference between good and bad stress, distress and unmet needs (social, emotional, intellectual, physical, creative and spiritual). The second portion of the workshop dealt with helping children handle their stress. Other activities included a practice work sheet, and Getting My Needs Met, followed by Stress Till You Pop Exercise. This exercise was used to show the amount of stressors they had in their life. For the closing activity I instructed the parents to sit comfortably in their chairs, take a few deep breaths and close their eyes. I gave them a scenario and asked them to share their experiences.
Collaboration for this conference was Connections New Mexico Children, Youth and Families Department/Family Services Connections, Inc. This was the 5th year we have joined forces with other agencies to provide credit training for early care providers.
Evaluation showed that the topic and information was very useful, materials were easy to understand, and finally, that stress is the cause for most of illnesses.