Adult Food Stamp Nutrition Education (FSNEP)
Working in conjunction with local agencies that serve Food Stamp recipients and applicants, nutrition classes are offered throughout
Children & Weight: What Communities Can Do
This resource kit is a "how-to" guide for community leaders who want to launch a local task force dedicated to reducing childhood overweight. Kit includes up-to-date information and statistics on childhood overweight, guidelines for mapping community resources and setting task force goals and objectives, and extensive list of print and electronic resources on childhood overweight, and Make a Change, an inspiring video that shows different ways local communities have mobilized to combat childhood overweight. This Item can be purchased through the UC Cooperative Extension,
Children & Weight: What's a Parent to Do
This 12-minute video and companion publications (If my Child is Overweight, What should I Do About It?, Food Choices for Good Health, and Children and Weight: What's a Parent to Do?) emphasizes the importance of building self-esteem in an overweight child; how good eating habits and more activity help overweight children grow into their weight. A great educational tool for nutrition professionals working with children and parents. This Item can be purchased through the UC Cooperative Extension,
Children & Weight: What Health Professionals Can Do
This kit contains everything you need to conduct in-service training for health professionals on diagnosing, assessing, and treating pediatric obesity. This Item can be purchased through the UC Cooperative Extension,
Eat Fit Teacher's Curriculum
This curriculum is designed to improve the eating and fitness choices of middle-school adolescents. The curriculum consists of nine lesson plans, lesson enhancements, recipes, educational standards, references, answer sheets for the student workbook, and web-based diet analysis. This Item can be purchased through the UC Cooperative Extension,
Eat Smart. Play Hard.™
Staying fit and eating healthy can be fun! A new program in San Luis Obispo County encourages parents or other significant adults in children's lives to be Buddies with their children for fun physical play and healthy snacking. Eat Smart. Play Hard. San Luis Obispo County! targets children six to eight years of age. The overall all goal of the program is to curb prevent childhood obesity. Approximately 15% of children and adolescents aged 6 to 19 are overweight, almost double the rate of two decades ago.
Eat Smart. Play Hard. San Luis Obispo County! is based on information gathered through local focus group interviews with health and education professionals, parents, and children. Additional interviews were conducted with representatives of state and national social marketing efforts that aim to curb childhood obesity. Excellent resources and support available from the USDA Eat Smart. Play Hard. and the Iowa State Pick a Better Snack programs provided us the opportunity to develop our local program in conjunction with these social marketing efforts.
The 6-week English/Spanish Eat Smart. Play Hard. San Luis Obispo County! program was pilot tested at the Boys and Girls Club of South County (Oceano) and the Oak Park Housing Authority (Paso Robles). Each week Buddies learned about healthy snacking through hands-on Nutrition Knowledge Centers and by making healthy snacks such as Watermelon Sundaes and Fruity Pizza. Buddies also learned and participated in fun and inexpensive ways to be active indoors or out by using household items, balloons, bean bags, and dance. Popular activities included Spatula Badminton, Animal Walks, and Rockin' Ribbons.
During the coming year, the program will be modified based on participant feedback and evaluations. Once completed, training will be available to local agencies interested in incorporating the Eat Smart. Play Hard. San Luis Obispo County! in their programs.
The program was developed by Shirley Peterson, Nutrition, Family, and Consumer Sciences Advisor with UC Cooperative Extension in San Luis Obispo County in cooperation with Center for Weight and Health at UC Berkeley Department of Nutritional Sciences and California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo Department of Food Science and Nutrtion. Funding for the project was provided by a USDA Food Stamp Nutrition Education Program grant through the Department of Nutrition at UC Davis. For more information contact Shirley Peterson at: 805-781-5951.
The Fit Families Novela Series
A bilingual kit for health professionals working with parents of young children. Using characters that are struggling to make improvements in their own families' eating habits, the videos and novelas help parents see how small changes can make a big difference. This Item can be purchased through the UC Cooperative Extension,
Let's Get Moving
A resource kit that introduces quick and easy ways to incorporate short bursts of physical activity into the daily routine of kids ages 2-7. Includes a training video and activity cards. This Item can be purchased through the UC Cooperative Extension,
The Lunch Box Series: Packing Healthy Take-Along Lunches for Preschool Children
Thanks to local funding from First 5 Commission of San Luis Obispo County, this program was developed to educate and motivate parents to pack nutritious and safe lunches for their preschool children. Working with nine local preschools, our staff identified the following nutritional and food safety concerns regarding brown bag lunches children bring from home:
More than half of the lunches contain 3 or less food groups.
8 out of 10 lunches include low-nutrient foods.
Fruit Drinks are the most common low- nutrient food.
Less than 1 in 5 lunches include a vegetable.
Almost a quarter of all lunches could become unsafe before they are eaten.
Additionally, parents have indicated that their concerns regarding packing their children's lunches center around including foods their children prefer, variety, nutrition, and time.
To address these concerns, educational pamphlets, in English and Spanish, have been developed to assist parents in packing nutritious, safe, and appealing lunches for their preschool children. All preschools and family child care centers in San Luis Obispo County that require children to bring bag lunches from home, are offered the program at no charge. Additionally, parents can request a copy of the pamphlets directly from Cooperative Extension or print them from this web page.
English
Healthy Lunches for Preschool Children
Learning From Labels
Safe Lunches for Preschool Children
Appealing Lunches For Preschool Children
15-Take Along Lunches for Preschool Children
Spanish
Almuerzos Saludables para Ninos Preescolares
Aprendamos de las Etiquetas de los Alimentos
Como Empacar Almuerzos Seguros para Ninos Preescolares
Almuerzos Apetitosos para Nino Preescolares
15 - Almuerzos para Llevar para Ninos Preescolares
For additional information, contact Shirley Peterson at (805) 781-5951.
Professional In-Service Training
Several times yearly, health-related professionals are offered in-service training opportunities in San Luis Obispo County. Designed to address current issues in nutrition and food safety, professional development programs feature UC scientists and educators, along with local professionals. Educational packets are provided to each participant and continuing education units for dietitians, nurses, and home economists are offered. Local professionals are notified of upcoming educational events through Update newsletters, program flyers, and cooperating agencies. A minimal fee is charged to cover program costs.
Additional Nutrition Resources on the web can be accessed by clicking the link below: