Today was our last day of nutrition in the community where we had a Locavore Brunch out by the ridges. What a very pleasant day to have a brunch and get to know what local foods are around here and how to prepare them :) I loved all the dishes, I think my favorite was the Kale Chips. I've always wondered how it would be to make Kale chips, and now I have the recipe.
We also discussed past events that have happened in our class. It was nice hearing other peoples opinions and experiences over food. I mean what better way to gather than over delicious foods!! Looking back on this class, it has made me want to be a dietitian in the field of community. I think that is where my heart is set and I believe I will do a good job in it :)
Thursday, May 31, 2012
Tuesday, May 29, 2012
Farm Tour
Today was another day at a local farm!! But this time, it was a dairy farm and not a produce farm. Therefore guess what we saw.....Cows! And tons of them. The farm tour we went on was at the Holter Holstein Farm and it was hosted by American Dairy Association. It correlated with our last speaker (Karen Bakey) of the American Diary Association, in that dairy farmers pay $0.15 for every $100 pounds of milk produced but are given money for ever so much milk produced and bonuses added for other milk characteristics. The farm is family owned and operated, therefore the family does much of the monitoring and evaluating of the farm. However, the American Dairy Association does do check ups and routines to make sure the milk is safe and the dairy farm is abiding by rules and regulations.
I was very interested in how time consuming owning a dairy farm was. You would think that it would be as simple as mating, milking and feeding a cow. Jeesh was I wrong. The farmer is run on a tight schedule in order to produce as much milk as possible. Who knew that even mating a cow was so complicated? I think the actual milking process was more simple than anything else. But I did enjoy my time there. I would suggest that if you get a chance, you should visit a dairy farm. It's cool to see where the milk that you drink comes from :)
Thursday, May 24, 2012
Dairy Council and Nutrition Communications
Not only did Karen talk about her job in the dairy counsel but she talked about how to communicate to our audience. One thing I will take away from her talk was that customization is really key to our audience. We want to choose things for ourselves and not have our choices decided for us. Her example was the frozen yogurt bar. Also, Karen mentioned that our audience eats with their eyes. So us trying to explain all our nutrition crap instead of talking about the taste of food is a waste of time. Lastly, don't tell our audience what they can't eat, but talk about what they can eat. Research shows it! :)
Well that's all folk....
Tuesday, May 22, 2012
Group work day
Today we had class off in order to take time to work on stuff with our group. Our group is meeting this afternoon in order to work on the assessment book.
Our garden plot is taking off! The kale is starting to get bigger and our broccoli and cauliflower are becoming huge!! I can't wait to start picking things. Now all we need is a little bit of rain in order to get our plants something to drink.
Well that's about it for today. Our group is hoping to finish off the assessment book today and start putting our binder together :)
Our garden plot is taking off! The kale is starting to get bigger and our broccoli and cauliflower are becoming huge!! I can't wait to start picking things. Now all we need is a little bit of rain in order to get our plants something to drink.
Well that's about it for today. Our group is hoping to finish off the assessment book today and start putting our binder together :)
Friday, May 18, 2012
Good Earth Farm
What a beautiful day it was to go visit Good Earth Farm in Athens County. The farmer/owner who spoke to our class yesterday was named Paul Clever. Him and his wife (a professor at hocking college) are the founders of the Good Earth Farm. Their overall goal and purpose before setting out to create Good Earth Farm was to provide food pantries with healthful and good quality produce. With the economy so low, there is less food being given to food pantries (I believe he said $.50/per person/per year or something outrageous along those lines). Therefore it was their mission to help provide supplemental fresh produce to pantries in order for people to not only have food but become aware and familiar to fresh, local produce. Good Earth Farm also provides a place of education and retreat for visitors.
Good Earth Farm serves 60 people a week on the produce and dairy they make. So there is a big plot dedicated to produce and to the cattle that they have. The people they serve are those who work and volunteer on the farm, but also again those local pantries. How Good Earth Farm is funded is by donations and grants. Mr. Clever mentioned how they came about the land that Good Earth sits on and it was through the generosity of his neighbors who gave it to them because they liked the goals that he set forth to accomplish. Although Paul didn't mention it, I believe the monitoring and evaluation of Good Earth Farm is done by him and his wife and maybe those who provide funding to him.
Overall, I think this project is a wonderful idea. Paul mentioned it, but he said that Athens County needs to look in terms of assets instead of needs. Athens has a lot of land to offer to agricultural practices however it is not being used wisely. Partially I believe it is the large scale corporations that run small farmers out of business, but then again, these large scale farmers are promoted by consumers who think cheap is better. Thus, we as consumers need to help out our economy by making more sustainable, economically viable practices.
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
WIC and Nutrition & Cancer Webinar
Hola my friends!
Today we had another guest speaker by the name of Melissa Alfano, the director of Athens and Perry county WIC. WIC stands for Woman, Infants and Children, and it is a supplemental food program for pregnant, breastfeeding. and postpartum women, but also infants and children. There are other criteria that WIC includes for one to receive their benefits such as residency of Ohio and the county, but also nutritional risk. Some of the purposes of WIC is to improve pregnancy outcomes, reduce infant mortality, and provide infants and children with a healthy start to life. Funding for WIC is 100% federal funding. Monitoring and evaluation is also done at the federal level, however every 2 years there is a state dietitian who comes to monitor Perry and Athens WIC program. Some programs that WIC does are as follows: nutrition education and classes, breastfeeding classes/education, supplemental foods (iron-fortified and Vitamin C rich), Farmer's Market coupons, and younger and older solids classes. Food packages are pretty specific and can include peanut butter, beans, eggs, cheese, fish, tofu, baby food/infant cereal, and fruits and vegetables. A couple of things I found interesting was that WIC is pro-breastfeeding and will not promote formula in their program. Also, WIC is not just for mothers and children but also single fathers or father who also need helping raising children.
During the webinar, we talked about cancer and its importance in the United States today, but how not only genetics can be a risk factor, but also nutrition and physical activity. The webinar was done by a woman named Cheryl Rock, PhD, RD from the American Institute for Cancer Research. There are many clinical trials being done in order to examine diet modification can have an affect on breast cancer occurrence. There are many studies being done such as: epidemiological studies, animal models, cell culture studies and clinical studies/feeding studies. In my opinion, we will see a huge movement of research on nutrition and cancer in the upcoming year. She also talked about phytochemials that help reduce cancer risk and progression. Lastly, another term that Dr. Rock brought up was diet's influence genetic and epigenetic events. This is a very interesting study that I look forward to hearing from in the future. How dietary patterns can influence our genetics; so for instance what the mom eats may affect the baby's future.
Today we had another guest speaker by the name of Melissa Alfano, the director of Athens and Perry county WIC. WIC stands for Woman, Infants and Children, and it is a supplemental food program for pregnant, breastfeeding. and postpartum women, but also infants and children. There are other criteria that WIC includes for one to receive their benefits such as residency of Ohio and the county, but also nutritional risk. Some of the purposes of WIC is to improve pregnancy outcomes, reduce infant mortality, and provide infants and children with a healthy start to life. Funding for WIC is 100% federal funding. Monitoring and evaluation is also done at the federal level, however every 2 years there is a state dietitian who comes to monitor Perry and Athens WIC program. Some programs that WIC does are as follows: nutrition education and classes, breastfeeding classes/education, supplemental foods (iron-fortified and Vitamin C rich), Farmer's Market coupons, and younger and older solids classes. Food packages are pretty specific and can include peanut butter, beans, eggs, cheese, fish, tofu, baby food/infant cereal, and fruits and vegetables. A couple of things I found interesting was that WIC is pro-breastfeeding and will not promote formula in their program. Also, WIC is not just for mothers and children but also single fathers or father who also need helping raising children.
During the webinar, we talked about cancer and its importance in the United States today, but how not only genetics can be a risk factor, but also nutrition and physical activity. The webinar was done by a woman named Cheryl Rock, PhD, RD from the American Institute for Cancer Research. There are many clinical trials being done in order to examine diet modification can have an affect on breast cancer occurrence. There are many studies being done such as: epidemiological studies, animal models, cell culture studies and clinical studies/feeding studies. In my opinion, we will see a huge movement of research on nutrition and cancer in the upcoming year. She also talked about phytochemials that help reduce cancer risk and progression. Lastly, another term that Dr. Rock brought up was diet's influence genetic and epigenetic events. This is a very interesting study that I look forward to hearing from in the future. How dietary patterns can influence our genetics; so for instance what the mom eats may affect the baby's future.
Thursday, May 10, 2012
Compost Facility and Ecohouse
Another field trip today! Yay! It always nice getting out of the boring classroom with the sun beating down :)
Anyways, a little about the compost facility. Annie Laurie Cadmus, who is the director of sustainability, who (as the website states) is "is charged with facilitating projects and programs that foster sound campus stewardship and a commitment to sustainability goals." One of these projects was the expansion of the compost facility at OU. She walked around and told us how the compost facility works and what happens to the compost when it is done. So far, this is not a cost-effective program, but one that is sustainable and ecologically friendly to say the least. The composting at OU is aerated, however there are other means of composting. The funding for this project is sponsored by a grant, however when it is done, OU will cover the funds.
The Ecohouse is a designated to three students a year who seek to work on sustainable project while living under sustainable living situations. The students are caretakers of the home, but there is also a community garden free of cost for anyone to plot on. Annie oversees the house and the projects done by the students or any volunteers interested in helping with events/programs. It is a cool idea. I only wish I knew about this a long time ago to apply to live in the house.
Anyways, a little about the compost facility. Annie Laurie Cadmus, who is the director of sustainability, who (as the website states) is "is charged with facilitating projects and programs that foster sound campus stewardship and a commitment to sustainability goals." One of these projects was the expansion of the compost facility at OU. She walked around and told us how the compost facility works and what happens to the compost when it is done. So far, this is not a cost-effective program, but one that is sustainable and ecologically friendly to say the least. The composting at OU is aerated, however there are other means of composting. The funding for this project is sponsored by a grant, however when it is done, OU will cover the funds.
The Ecohouse is a designated to three students a year who seek to work on sustainable project while living under sustainable living situations. The students are caretakers of the home, but there is also a community garden free of cost for anyone to plot on. Annie oversees the house and the projects done by the students or any volunteers interested in helping with events/programs. It is a cool idea. I only wish I knew about this a long time ago to apply to live in the house.
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