Tuesday 06/01/10
The project presentation at the Community Garden was an interesting one. It was amazing how the different groups applied the seven assessment steps. The various group assessments go a long way to tell us how important a community nutrition professional is to the society. For example our team discovery of adolescent female’s deficiency in iron, vitamin A, protein and calcium will go a long way to improve the health of these adolescent especially in the case of iron due to blood loss as a result of menstrual cycle and also at that age, calcium is important for strong bone formation. In a nut shell, I must say the assessments from all groups were impressive. Our group garden looked great as I saw broccoli, soy bean and strawberries grow for the first time in my life.
Donating our produce to the School Lunch Program was a good thing to do since it will set an example for other community gardeners to support the health of our young ones.
Thursday 06/03/10
Thursday was an interesting day as I found some classmates trying to meet the deadline. There was only one printer working at the Grover Center computer lab on that day and to compound issues, it got jammed and you could see the desperation in our eyes. However, it was restored and we managed to print our work.
Saturday 06/05/10
Our group planned to be at the Framers Market at 10am but I got there a bit late as I had difficulties starting my car. I however managed to get there after a friend gave me his car. There were a lot of people present and I wondered if I could see my friends. After wandering for about three minutes we finally met. They had bought some apples and strawberries by then and they informed we get some cherries. Amazingly, we bought yellow cherries. I have always thought cherries were either red or black. Our salad will be very colorful and I cannot wait to see the look on our classmates faces when the salad is brought out to be served. We were pleased to have Laura’s mother come with us and she offered some advice too. Our group will meet in my house to prepare the peanut butter soup on Tuesday.
This class has enlightened me extremely. Apart from discussing food insecurity issues and other measures that are being put in place to combat it, the tree planting and gardening experience has been an eye opener and it brought back pleasant and challenging memories. I will not hesitate to recommend this class to anyone, especially students who interested in advocating and combating food insecurity and hunger. I hope this class is mounted next year so I can experience what goes on in dairy farm.
Sunday, June 6, 2010
Sunday, May 30, 2010
Week 9
Tuesday, 5/25/10
Tuesday was a disappointment for me as due to circumstances beyond me; our instructor advised that I do not take the trip to avert any further problems. I have looked forward to this trip. Apart from its educational benefits, it was another opportunity for me to see another part of our beloved Ohio. The closers I have come to visiting a dairy product site was when I visited Nestle back Home as a child. Even though it brings back good memories, as a child its educational significance was of no importance to me as the trip was more like getting out of the confinement of class and doing class work.
I am very disappointed because now that I understand why these trips are made, I did not get the chance to make one. However, I took time to speak my garden group who informed me that the trip was worth taking and they enjoyed every bit of it. They could not help but talk about how they got lost on their way to the farm. That was quite an adventure and which I wished I was part of. It was interesting to know that they were told the average dairy farm in Ohio has 80 cows and this is impressive. However, it is my hope that this class will be mounted next year so I can join that class to see a dairy farm with the permission of the instructor.
Thursday, 5/27/10
I will call Thursday the putting together information day. My group and I took time to go over our project and I must confess, I was impressed with my group member’s contribution to the final output. I will say our work was about 95% done when we dispersed. We only need to polish some Tabs and we good to go on next Tuesday. We cannot wait to show our beautiful garden to our classmate.
Tuesday was a disappointment for me as due to circumstances beyond me; our instructor advised that I do not take the trip to avert any further problems. I have looked forward to this trip. Apart from its educational benefits, it was another opportunity for me to see another part of our beloved Ohio. The closers I have come to visiting a dairy product site was when I visited Nestle back Home as a child. Even though it brings back good memories, as a child its educational significance was of no importance to me as the trip was more like getting out of the confinement of class and doing class work.
I am very disappointed because now that I understand why these trips are made, I did not get the chance to make one. However, I took time to speak my garden group who informed me that the trip was worth taking and they enjoyed every bit of it. They could not help but talk about how they got lost on their way to the farm. That was quite an adventure and which I wished I was part of. It was interesting to know that they were told the average dairy farm in Ohio has 80 cows and this is impressive. However, it is my hope that this class will be mounted next year so I can join that class to see a dairy farm with the permission of the instructor.
Thursday, 5/27/10
I will call Thursday the putting together information day. My group and I took time to go over our project and I must confess, I was impressed with my group member’s contribution to the final output. I will say our work was about 95% done when we dispersed. We only need to polish some Tabs and we good to go on next Tuesday. We cannot wait to show our beautiful garden to our classmate.
Saturday, May 22, 2010
week 8
Tuesday 5/18/10
I normally rely on Molly to find locations when the class has to be held outside Grover Center, so when I made that call to Molly and she informed she was not around since Art Works is close to her residence, I wondered what will become of my tree planting point. Luckily I saw Alex and we were later on joined by Laura and another class mate. It was quite an exercise walking to Art Works, as I had to struggle to keep up with the ladies. In fact, these ladies are extremely fit and it had me thinking about working out regularly.
Once again we saw “nutrition in action” by planting all these fruit trees. I believe this exercise will go a long way to minimize food insecurity and improve nutrient intake of individuals who are food insecure. It is interesting how I always come across rocks anytime I dig hole for planting, hopefully I will find something I can share with my classmates the next time.
Tuesday’s tree planting exercise also provided us with an experience of working with community members. In as much as we need to be patient with some community members, I believe it is not out of line to put them in their right place as our instructor did. I had to move away from the initial hole I dug and leave the planting to my classmates because I could not stand the smoke from their cigarettes because it irritates my eyes. I kept wondering what will happen if I was the only person with them. What would I have said to them? Would I have left them there till they finished smoking? I guess these are some of the challenges we will be facing in the future.
I pray God control our speeches in the future to that it does not create a barrier in communication.
Thursday 5/20/10
Even though we did not have class on Thursday, the day was a productive one as my group members and I took time to go through out project. We decided on what role each member has to play for a successful completion of our project. As the only male in the group, I must confess that it is a privilege working on this project with four caring and talented ladies.
Our meeting with our instructor put the icing on the cake as he informed that our choice of vegetables was impressive. Well, he said that after putting us through drills of advance nutrition questions. I cannot wait to see our strawberries grow as this project has given me the opportunity to see a strawberry plant for the first time in my live.
I normally rely on Molly to find locations when the class has to be held outside Grover Center, so when I made that call to Molly and she informed she was not around since Art Works is close to her residence, I wondered what will become of my tree planting point. Luckily I saw Alex and we were later on joined by Laura and another class mate. It was quite an exercise walking to Art Works, as I had to struggle to keep up with the ladies. In fact, these ladies are extremely fit and it had me thinking about working out regularly.
Once again we saw “nutrition in action” by planting all these fruit trees. I believe this exercise will go a long way to minimize food insecurity and improve nutrient intake of individuals who are food insecure. It is interesting how I always come across rocks anytime I dig hole for planting, hopefully I will find something I can share with my classmates the next time.
Tuesday’s tree planting exercise also provided us with an experience of working with community members. In as much as we need to be patient with some community members, I believe it is not out of line to put them in their right place as our instructor did. I had to move away from the initial hole I dug and leave the planting to my classmates because I could not stand the smoke from their cigarettes because it irritates my eyes. I kept wondering what will happen if I was the only person with them. What would I have said to them? Would I have left them there till they finished smoking? I guess these are some of the challenges we will be facing in the future.
I pray God control our speeches in the future to that it does not create a barrier in communication.
Thursday 5/20/10
Even though we did not have class on Thursday, the day was a productive one as my group members and I took time to go through out project. We decided on what role each member has to play for a successful completion of our project. As the only male in the group, I must confess that it is a privilege working on this project with four caring and talented ladies.
Our meeting with our instructor put the icing on the cake as he informed that our choice of vegetables was impressive. Well, he said that after putting us through drills of advance nutrition questions. I cannot wait to see our strawberries grow as this project has given me the opportunity to see a strawberry plant for the first time in my live.
Sunday, May 16, 2010
week 7
Tuesday 05/11/10
GUEST SPEAKER: Julie Gladmay
AGENCY: Athens County WIC Program
POSITION: Lactation Consultant
TYPES OF PROGRAMS: Nutrition education and support, Breastfeeding education and support, Referral for health care, immunization screening and referral, and supplemental foods (Milk, Cereal, Juice, peanut butter or beans, infant formula tuna fish and carrot).
FUNDING SOURCE: United States Department of Agriculture
MISSION: To improve the nutrition and health status of low-income women, infants, and preschool children who are at-risk by providing:
Nutritious Food
Nutrition and health education
Breastfeeding education and support
Referrals to health and human services
PROGRAM PLANNING, MONITORING & EVALUATION: Planning of programs is done under the supervision of USDA. The programs are tailored for with mothers and children in mind. There is a medical center available to monitor improvement in health or take care of the sick at low cost. Children are tested for iron deficiency as well as their heights and weight to monitor their progress. There is collaboration between the medical center and WIC for referrals in case there is the need for medical attention. Surveys are given to participants of WIC to get feedback for evaluating their program. Also follow up calls are made after educational sections to listen to the views of participants.
THE ROLE OF NUTRITION PROFESSIONAL: With the programs of WIC focused on nutritional matters it is important to have a nutrition professional at WIC. Even though the programs are supervised by USDA, it is important to have a nutrition professional to have these programs implemented correctly. Nutrition professional expertise will also be needed during counseling when it comes to child or mother’s nutrient deficiency.
The programs designed at WIC cannot be over stated. Listening to Julie talk and the little that I have experienced at WIC shows that there could be a better program for women and children. With the rate of poverty in Ohio and the current economic down turn; no wonder Ohio is sixth in WIC programs in the nation. I have had the privilege of accompanying my daughter and wife to WIC. They have a very effective way of monitoring children’s growth and responding accordingly. I remember one time they informed me that my daughter was low in iron and some discrepancy with her height to weight, they changed her coupons from her initial foods items to other food items that could combat the deficiency and interesting enough, during our next visit, her iron levels and height to weight were within range. In fact they do a great job at WIC.
They reason why I brought up the cultural issue was that my daughter will not even eat some of the food items they had on their coupons. She won’t even take a second look at cheese, so anytime we went to take food items, we have to leave out the cheese. That was quite strange for some of the attendants. I have never seen cheese in my life till my undergraduate level, so you can imagine, I never had that urge to introduce cheese to my daughter. Also foods that are not that popular in my country are quite expensive to get.
I believe the collaboration between the medical center and those who have the direct contact with mothers and children is an excellent idea. This forms the foundation for an effective monitoring and evaluation of the program.
Simply put, I am in love with this program.
Thursday 05/13/10
GUEST SPEAKER: Michael Sieminski, RD, LD
AGENCY: American Dairy Association, MID EAST.
POSITION: Nutrition Communications Manager
TYPES OF PROGRAMS: Nutrition Affairs (Protecting and promoting dairy product), School Marketing (Targeting school children), Marketing and Business Development (Serving as a resource to retailers and increasing dairy availability), Industry image and relation (maintaining and building public confidence) and; Communication and Media (programs to minimize child obesity)
FUNDING SOURCE: Sales from dairy product. For every 12 gallons of milk sold, 15 cents is allocated to American Dairy Association.
MISSION: The mission of the American Dairy Association and Dairy Council, Inc. is to economically benefit dairy farmers by encouraging the consumption of milk and dairy products through advertising, education and promotion, to reach consumers with product benefits and advantages.
PROGRAM PLANNING, MONITORING & EVALUATION: Programs are planned and implemented by staff. Staff come together to bring out their ideas of how to promote dairy product in terms of nutritional importance and the most favorable and feasible ideas are implemented. Monitoring of program is also undertaken by staff and through the setting up of Facebook to see how many they have as members. Evaluating program is done by observing the sale of a dairy product before and after that program. The speaker however indicated that it is very difficult to undertake evaluation but mostly, fluid milk sales from the national perspective are used.
THE ROLE OF NUTRITION PROFESSIONAL: Programs of this sort requires not only one that is dedicated but someone who knows what he is talking about and how to convey the message. Certainly there are so many quacks information out there about diary product and so it is important to have a well vested individual on nutrition to promote and protect the image of milk and its products. The nutrition professional will be one to ease the dilemma of individuals on milk as well as providing the nutritional benefits of dairy product to an individual.
I have learned a lot today, not only from our guest speaker but from our two ladies ( Laura and Kendell) who presented their poster at the convocation center. Matters of food security are very dear to my heart and I was very happy to hear them talk about their study. However, I was disappointed to hear that Kendell’s work was not judge. I thought she had an excellent poster. I also saw Lori and Tianxu’s posters too. I am quite familiar with their work as my classmates and I helped plant some fruit trees for Lori and I have been working with Tianxu on cell outlining for her data collection. In a summary I thought the program was interesting and I look forward to being part of it next year.
I will call today’s class a communication class. I believe as future dieticians and community nutritionists; we will all be coming into contact with people. Like Mick informed, it is not about telling but talking. There should be effective communication leading to feedback. I guess cultural competence comes to play here. I could not agree more with Mick when he informed that it is important to know who you are talking to when it comes to communication. I am a little bit surprise at their funding source, I wonder how much they are able to make to run their program effectively especially when a product like cheese is taken out of WIC. I stand corrected but I feel this is a program USDA should be funding. I have always seen chocolate milk at Kroger and Walmart but never took a second look at it. Now that I have been educated, my daughters will need it and I guess me too, just to keep up with their energy. However, wonder if it is advisable to give my one year old daughter chocolate milk.
I am very happy to be part of today’s class because I have learned a lot about communication and glad to have Mick’s power point presentation available. Thanks Dr DH for making that possible.
GUEST SPEAKER: Julie Gladmay
AGENCY: Athens County WIC Program
POSITION: Lactation Consultant
TYPES OF PROGRAMS: Nutrition education and support, Breastfeeding education and support, Referral for health care, immunization screening and referral, and supplemental foods (Milk, Cereal, Juice, peanut butter or beans, infant formula tuna fish and carrot).
FUNDING SOURCE: United States Department of Agriculture
MISSION: To improve the nutrition and health status of low-income women, infants, and preschool children who are at-risk by providing:
Nutritious Food
Nutrition and health education
Breastfeeding education and support
Referrals to health and human services
PROGRAM PLANNING, MONITORING & EVALUATION: Planning of programs is done under the supervision of USDA. The programs are tailored for with mothers and children in mind. There is a medical center available to monitor improvement in health or take care of the sick at low cost. Children are tested for iron deficiency as well as their heights and weight to monitor their progress. There is collaboration between the medical center and WIC for referrals in case there is the need for medical attention. Surveys are given to participants of WIC to get feedback for evaluating their program. Also follow up calls are made after educational sections to listen to the views of participants.
THE ROLE OF NUTRITION PROFESSIONAL: With the programs of WIC focused on nutritional matters it is important to have a nutrition professional at WIC. Even though the programs are supervised by USDA, it is important to have a nutrition professional to have these programs implemented correctly. Nutrition professional expertise will also be needed during counseling when it comes to child or mother’s nutrient deficiency.
The programs designed at WIC cannot be over stated. Listening to Julie talk and the little that I have experienced at WIC shows that there could be a better program for women and children. With the rate of poverty in Ohio and the current economic down turn; no wonder Ohio is sixth in WIC programs in the nation. I have had the privilege of accompanying my daughter and wife to WIC. They have a very effective way of monitoring children’s growth and responding accordingly. I remember one time they informed me that my daughter was low in iron and some discrepancy with her height to weight, they changed her coupons from her initial foods items to other food items that could combat the deficiency and interesting enough, during our next visit, her iron levels and height to weight were within range. In fact they do a great job at WIC.
They reason why I brought up the cultural issue was that my daughter will not even eat some of the food items they had on their coupons. She won’t even take a second look at cheese, so anytime we went to take food items, we have to leave out the cheese. That was quite strange for some of the attendants. I have never seen cheese in my life till my undergraduate level, so you can imagine, I never had that urge to introduce cheese to my daughter. Also foods that are not that popular in my country are quite expensive to get.
I believe the collaboration between the medical center and those who have the direct contact with mothers and children is an excellent idea. This forms the foundation for an effective monitoring and evaluation of the program.
Simply put, I am in love with this program.
Thursday 05/13/10
GUEST SPEAKER: Michael Sieminski, RD, LD
AGENCY: American Dairy Association, MID EAST.
POSITION: Nutrition Communications Manager
TYPES OF PROGRAMS: Nutrition Affairs (Protecting and promoting dairy product), School Marketing (Targeting school children), Marketing and Business Development (Serving as a resource to retailers and increasing dairy availability), Industry image and relation (maintaining and building public confidence) and; Communication and Media (programs to minimize child obesity)
FUNDING SOURCE: Sales from dairy product. For every 12 gallons of milk sold, 15 cents is allocated to American Dairy Association.
MISSION: The mission of the American Dairy Association and Dairy Council, Inc. is to economically benefit dairy farmers by encouraging the consumption of milk and dairy products through advertising, education and promotion, to reach consumers with product benefits and advantages.
PROGRAM PLANNING, MONITORING & EVALUATION: Programs are planned and implemented by staff. Staff come together to bring out their ideas of how to promote dairy product in terms of nutritional importance and the most favorable and feasible ideas are implemented. Monitoring of program is also undertaken by staff and through the setting up of Facebook to see how many they have as members. Evaluating program is done by observing the sale of a dairy product before and after that program. The speaker however indicated that it is very difficult to undertake evaluation but mostly, fluid milk sales from the national perspective are used.
THE ROLE OF NUTRITION PROFESSIONAL: Programs of this sort requires not only one that is dedicated but someone who knows what he is talking about and how to convey the message. Certainly there are so many quacks information out there about diary product and so it is important to have a well vested individual on nutrition to promote and protect the image of milk and its products. The nutrition professional will be one to ease the dilemma of individuals on milk as well as providing the nutritional benefits of dairy product to an individual.
I have learned a lot today, not only from our guest speaker but from our two ladies ( Laura and Kendell) who presented their poster at the convocation center. Matters of food security are very dear to my heart and I was very happy to hear them talk about their study. However, I was disappointed to hear that Kendell’s work was not judge. I thought she had an excellent poster. I also saw Lori and Tianxu’s posters too. I am quite familiar with their work as my classmates and I helped plant some fruit trees for Lori and I have been working with Tianxu on cell outlining for her data collection. In a summary I thought the program was interesting and I look forward to being part of it next year.
I will call today’s class a communication class. I believe as future dieticians and community nutritionists; we will all be coming into contact with people. Like Mick informed, it is not about telling but talking. There should be effective communication leading to feedback. I guess cultural competence comes to play here. I could not agree more with Mick when he informed that it is important to know who you are talking to when it comes to communication. I am a little bit surprise at their funding source, I wonder how much they are able to make to run their program effectively especially when a product like cheese is taken out of WIC. I stand corrected but I feel this is a program USDA should be funding. I have always seen chocolate milk at Kroger and Walmart but never took a second look at it. Now that I have been educated, my daughters will need it and I guess me too, just to keep up with their energy. However, wonder if it is advisable to give my one year old daughter chocolate milk.
I am very happy to be part of today’s class because I have learned a lot about communication and glad to have Mick’s power point presentation available. Thanks Dr DH for making that possible.
Saturday, May 8, 2010
week 6
Tuesday 05/04/10
GUEST SPEAKER: Heidi Anderson MPH, RD, LD
AGENCY: Wellworks
POSITION: Education and Special Event Coordinator
TYPES OF PROGRAMS: Stress management, Health risk appraisal, Fitness center, Nutritional awareness, Blood pressure campaign.
FUNDING SOURCE: College of Health Sciences and Human Resources of Ohio University.
MISSION: To be the highest quality wellness program for our customers and to combine academic and experiential learning for our students.
PROGRAM PLANNING, MONITORING & EVALUATION: Their programs are planned with health matters in mind. Planning is based on providing programs that initiate awareness through a variety of programs that takes into consideration age and seasonal changes. Monitoring is done through experienced staff by measuring the ongoing activities . Evaluations are done through feedback surveys, health appraisal and statistics.
ROLE OF NUTRITION PROFESSIONAL: This program is centered on health matters and as such, nutrition professionals have a big role to play in such a program. They can provide nutritional counseling to individuals whose ailment can be managed through proper eating habits. They can work in connection with the fitness center staff to educate those who patronize the facility.
The programs offered by Wellworks are impressive. It creates an opportunity for all who are health conscious to realize their dreams. Listening to Heidi, it is clear that if one is focused, it is easy to achieve set targets
I was excited to hear the guest speaker talk about the importance of being flexible when setting our career goals. In this competitive world, being flexible creates an opportunity since it prepares one to be ready for whatever the world throws out.
Heidi pointed out that evaluation is one of the most neglected exercises of a program and I could not agree more with her. Evaluations are often left out in institution’s plans because they cannot just stand to hear criticism.
Thursday 05/07/10
Thursday’s tree planting exercise brought great memories, especially when I began digging the hole. It reminds me of my childhood and teen ages when my siblings, cousins and I will hunt for rats by digging holes on my grandfather’s cocoa farm. It was not all that rosy as we end up digging out snakes sometimes.
I believe the project been under taken is a marvelous one and I could not agree more with Dr. Holben when he said that was a “nutrition in action” in progress. Certainly exercises of this sort around Athens will go a long way to combat food insecurity and its related consequences in its own small way. We all know how malnutrition arises because of food insecurity and these fruit plants will contribute some nutrients to Athens population.
What fascinates me is how the community is willing to help see the trees grow and how in the future I believe everyone will have access to the fruits of the trees without anyone taking full ownership of the trees and its fruits. Back in my homeland, this would be a recipe for disaster as you will find a government official taking full ownership once the fruits are ready.
I have taken an excellent cue from this exercise and will put it to use when I get back home. If all goes well my initiative will start in primary schools because many primary schools have vast lands.
I hope this initiative will be implemented all over the Athens community to help minimize nutrient deficiency.
GUEST SPEAKER: Heidi Anderson MPH, RD, LD
AGENCY: Wellworks
POSITION: Education and Special Event Coordinator
TYPES OF PROGRAMS: Stress management, Health risk appraisal, Fitness center, Nutritional awareness, Blood pressure campaign.
FUNDING SOURCE: College of Health Sciences and Human Resources of Ohio University.
MISSION: To be the highest quality wellness program for our customers and to combine academic and experiential learning for our students.
PROGRAM PLANNING, MONITORING & EVALUATION: Their programs are planned with health matters in mind. Planning is based on providing programs that initiate awareness through a variety of programs that takes into consideration age and seasonal changes. Monitoring is done through experienced staff by measuring the ongoing activities . Evaluations are done through feedback surveys, health appraisal and statistics.
ROLE OF NUTRITION PROFESSIONAL: This program is centered on health matters and as such, nutrition professionals have a big role to play in such a program. They can provide nutritional counseling to individuals whose ailment can be managed through proper eating habits. They can work in connection with the fitness center staff to educate those who patronize the facility.
The programs offered by Wellworks are impressive. It creates an opportunity for all who are health conscious to realize their dreams. Listening to Heidi, it is clear that if one is focused, it is easy to achieve set targets
I was excited to hear the guest speaker talk about the importance of being flexible when setting our career goals. In this competitive world, being flexible creates an opportunity since it prepares one to be ready for whatever the world throws out.
Heidi pointed out that evaluation is one of the most neglected exercises of a program and I could not agree more with her. Evaluations are often left out in institution’s plans because they cannot just stand to hear criticism.
Thursday 05/07/10
Thursday’s tree planting exercise brought great memories, especially when I began digging the hole. It reminds me of my childhood and teen ages when my siblings, cousins and I will hunt for rats by digging holes on my grandfather’s cocoa farm. It was not all that rosy as we end up digging out snakes sometimes.
I believe the project been under taken is a marvelous one and I could not agree more with Dr. Holben when he said that was a “nutrition in action” in progress. Certainly exercises of this sort around Athens will go a long way to combat food insecurity and its related consequences in its own small way. We all know how malnutrition arises because of food insecurity and these fruit plants will contribute some nutrients to Athens population.
What fascinates me is how the community is willing to help see the trees grow and how in the future I believe everyone will have access to the fruits of the trees without anyone taking full ownership of the trees and its fruits. Back in my homeland, this would be a recipe for disaster as you will find a government official taking full ownership once the fruits are ready.
I have taken an excellent cue from this exercise and will put it to use when I get back home. If all goes well my initiative will start in primary schools because many primary schools have vast lands.
I hope this initiative will be implemented all over the Athens community to help minimize nutrient deficiency.
Sunday, May 2, 2010
Week 5
Tuesday 04/27/10
Today’s round table discussion was an interesting one. However, I cannot forget the video we watched about passing a bill. One can only imagine the stress and sleepless night one has to go through to have a bill pass as a law. I decided to research on the National School Lunch Program because I wanted to find out why it is such a successful program. My country tried to implement such a program but failed miserably. I found that such a program requires dedication and discipline. I have realized that when it comes to the children of America, politics is put aside. This has been the down fall of my country’s initiative to implement school lunch program.
Listening to my class mates presents their findings, one thing comes to mind, dedication by the people of America to ease the plight of their fellow citizens through programs that are monitored and implemented effectively.
I believe all the policies that had lead to these programs are in the right directions and I hope that as the years go by and these programs go through amendments, the mission statements that propagates these programs will not be forgotten.
Thursday 04/29/10
I was absent from last Thursday’s class. I had to attend my sis-in-law’s graduation in Pittsburgh. One may wonder why graduation on a Thursday. Well, each faculty has its own graduation time. I guess the class completed the discussion on the rest of the program. I am glad each class member had to send copies to class members. I missed Bryant Terry’s talk and will take time on Tuesday to find out from class mates about what transpired.
Today’s round table discussion was an interesting one. However, I cannot forget the video we watched about passing a bill. One can only imagine the stress and sleepless night one has to go through to have a bill pass as a law. I decided to research on the National School Lunch Program because I wanted to find out why it is such a successful program. My country tried to implement such a program but failed miserably. I found that such a program requires dedication and discipline. I have realized that when it comes to the children of America, politics is put aside. This has been the down fall of my country’s initiative to implement school lunch program.
Listening to my class mates presents their findings, one thing comes to mind, dedication by the people of America to ease the plight of their fellow citizens through programs that are monitored and implemented effectively.
I believe all the policies that had lead to these programs are in the right directions and I hope that as the years go by and these programs go through amendments, the mission statements that propagates these programs will not be forgotten.
Thursday 04/29/10
I was absent from last Thursday’s class. I had to attend my sis-in-law’s graduation in Pittsburgh. One may wonder why graduation on a Thursday. Well, each faculty has its own graduation time. I guess the class completed the discussion on the rest of the program. I am glad each class member had to send copies to class members. I missed Bryant Terry’s talk and will take time on Tuesday to find out from class mates about what transpired.
Saturday, April 24, 2010
Week 4
Tuesday
Resource Person: Nick Claussen
Institution: Athens Jobs and Family Services
Position: Community Relation Coordinator.
Type of Program:Provides County Homes, Family Services, Child Support, Age, blind, disabled services and health services, employment & education services.
Funding Source: Federal, State and County
Mission:As the employees of the Athens County Department of Job & Family Services,
we have been charged with the most serious and important responsibility in government, that of helping our fellow citizens who experience the despair of poverty, hunger, homelessness, and ill health. We believe that our programs represent the conscience of society and that our strength lies in seeking a decent life for all.
Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation:Planning are based on statistical data, monitoring are done by and the evaluation is done by information gathered by NHANES.
Role of Nutrition Professional:it is unfortunate there is no nutrition professional at AJFS, in the presence of a professional, people would have been educated on eating habits and how to get the most from the little food they have by proper combination of foods.
I have been fortunate to work for 10 hours at the Athens Jobs and Family Services (AJFS) Fall 2009. This was part of a requirement for Economics of Poverty, a course I took at the Economics Department. Some of the issues that were raised in class were not new to me as I took time to speak to some of the workers there. I helped two gentlemen employed by AJFS to move food around Athens County food shelters were these foods are distributed. This was done on Tuesdays and Thursdays. I also had the opportunity to hand food out to people on Tuesdays and Thursdays at AJFS.
I must admit the SNAP is doing a great job in serving the needy but the little time I spent at AJFS indicates that the number of people patronizing their services have increased drastically. I had the pleasure of talking to the Director of Administrative Services, Warren Haydon who confirmed it with some figures. Some people had to be referred other food distribution points.
I must admit that the absence of a dietician at AJFS is not pleasant but the staff of AJFS are faced with issues of how to get people fed. I do not think an empty stomach will be willing to hear talks about eating right when the fellow has nothing to eat at all.
I guess the resource person was not that informative as we all expected but I think we all know how it feels like to be in front people. I will suggest to our instructor to consider Warren Hyadon as a resource person for next year if the course will be mounted and Warren is still at AJFS.
Thursday
Resource Person: Rory Lewandowski
Institution: Ohio State University
Position: Ohio State University Extension Educator, Agriculture and Natural Resources.
Type of Program:Youth and Community Development, Agriculture/Natural Resources, Family Nutrition Program and Family Consumer Sciences
Funding Source: Federal, State and County
Mission:Ohio State University Extension helps people improve their lives through an educational process using scientific knowledge focused on identified issues and needs.
Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation:Depending on what issues that a community raises, a plan is drawn to tackle the issues, whilst the monitoring is done by the community and the extension officer and evaluation is done through interactions with community for them to express their views on what they think have changed since their interaction with extension officers. whether their confidence has increased since then.
Role of Nutrition Professional:Educating families on the importance of eating right and the activities that are to be undertaken to achieve it. Especially the dinning with diabetes program requires a nutrition professional for it to be successful.
I have never left class with some much unanswered questions like that of Thursday’s. First of all, the resource person was as prepared as our instructor and I must confess I was impressed. Now back to the subject matter, sometimes I cannot help it but compare my country with America since at the end of the day, I will go back home and share my fortunate experience with my countrymen. I have always had the notion that extension is all about agriculture. That is finding ways to educate only those involved in agricultural practices.
After listening to Rory talk about their involvement in family and consumer sciences, youth and community development, I could not help it but think throughout the lecture what my country is doing wrong and what will become of it if such activities are incorporated into our extension program. I am sorry to be boring you with my country’s problem but Thursday’s lecture kept me thinking. The extension program is doing a great job, especially with the youth programs as the future of America depends on the youth and it is my hope that the current economic situation will not have an effect on their funding. Certainly the policies that are put forward by the government will determine the efficiency of the Ohio University Extension.
Resource Person: Nick Claussen
Institution: Athens Jobs and Family Services
Position: Community Relation Coordinator.
Type of Program:Provides County Homes, Family Services, Child Support, Age, blind, disabled services and health services, employment & education services.
Funding Source: Federal, State and County
Mission:As the employees of the Athens County Department of Job & Family Services,
we have been charged with the most serious and important responsibility in government, that of helping our fellow citizens who experience the despair of poverty, hunger, homelessness, and ill health. We believe that our programs represent the conscience of society and that our strength lies in seeking a decent life for all.
Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation:Planning are based on statistical data, monitoring are done by and the evaluation is done by information gathered by NHANES.
Role of Nutrition Professional:it is unfortunate there is no nutrition professional at AJFS, in the presence of a professional, people would have been educated on eating habits and how to get the most from the little food they have by proper combination of foods.
I have been fortunate to work for 10 hours at the Athens Jobs and Family Services (AJFS) Fall 2009. This was part of a requirement for Economics of Poverty, a course I took at the Economics Department. Some of the issues that were raised in class were not new to me as I took time to speak to some of the workers there. I helped two gentlemen employed by AJFS to move food around Athens County food shelters were these foods are distributed. This was done on Tuesdays and Thursdays. I also had the opportunity to hand food out to people on Tuesdays and Thursdays at AJFS.
I must admit the SNAP is doing a great job in serving the needy but the little time I spent at AJFS indicates that the number of people patronizing their services have increased drastically. I had the pleasure of talking to the Director of Administrative Services, Warren Haydon who confirmed it with some figures. Some people had to be referred other food distribution points.
I must admit that the absence of a dietician at AJFS is not pleasant but the staff of AJFS are faced with issues of how to get people fed. I do not think an empty stomach will be willing to hear talks about eating right when the fellow has nothing to eat at all.
I guess the resource person was not that informative as we all expected but I think we all know how it feels like to be in front people. I will suggest to our instructor to consider Warren Hyadon as a resource person for next year if the course will be mounted and Warren is still at AJFS.
Thursday
Resource Person: Rory Lewandowski
Institution: Ohio State University
Position: Ohio State University Extension Educator, Agriculture and Natural Resources.
Type of Program:Youth and Community Development, Agriculture/Natural Resources, Family Nutrition Program and Family Consumer Sciences
Funding Source: Federal, State and County
Mission:Ohio State University Extension helps people improve their lives through an educational process using scientific knowledge focused on identified issues and needs.
Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation:Depending on what issues that a community raises, a plan is drawn to tackle the issues, whilst the monitoring is done by the community and the extension officer and evaluation is done through interactions with community for them to express their views on what they think have changed since their interaction with extension officers. whether their confidence has increased since then.
Role of Nutrition Professional:Educating families on the importance of eating right and the activities that are to be undertaken to achieve it. Especially the dinning with diabetes program requires a nutrition professional for it to be successful.
I have never left class with some much unanswered questions like that of Thursday’s. First of all, the resource person was as prepared as our instructor and I must confess I was impressed. Now back to the subject matter, sometimes I cannot help it but compare my country with America since at the end of the day, I will go back home and share my fortunate experience with my countrymen. I have always had the notion that extension is all about agriculture. That is finding ways to educate only those involved in agricultural practices.
After listening to Rory talk about their involvement in family and consumer sciences, youth and community development, I could not help it but think throughout the lecture what my country is doing wrong and what will become of it if such activities are incorporated into our extension program. I am sorry to be boring you with my country’s problem but Thursday’s lecture kept me thinking. The extension program is doing a great job, especially with the youth programs as the future of America depends on the youth and it is my hope that the current economic situation will not have an effect on their funding. Certainly the policies that are put forward by the government will determine the efficiency of the Ohio University Extension.
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