April 26, 2012

Unfortunately, Karen Dion from The Ohio Board of Dietetics could not be with us, so Dr. Holben reviewed the information about the board with us. The mission of the Board is to effectively protect the public by regulations the practice of dietetics through licensure, and by fairly and consistently enforcing the laws and rules governing nutritional practices. There are four RD members on the board and an educator member. The licensure fees are the funding for this organization.

April 24, 2012

Our guest speaker today was Francie Astrom a Registered Dietitian that works in WellWorks here in Grover Center. This is an OU Wellness Program that is supported by university wellness funds and membership fees. Also it is supported by services that they offer such as massage, nutrition counseling, and personal training. The purposes of the program include: providing a wide variety of programming, wellness focused vs medical model, to help others obtain optimal health, improve health status, and reduce risk of disease in the members. OU faculty/staff and dependence, OU retirees and dependence, community members, corporate members and full time medical and graduate students are able to join the program. The RD is integral to the success of the wellness program. The RD provides up to date nutrition information and review and interpret current literature. Also, they are a resource to staff as well as members and act as a change agent.

April 19, 2012

Today in class we discussed the different agencies that we were assigned to. It was nice to hear about all the different organzations out there and was very interesting. I was surprised of the wide variety and types of different organizations. The most shocking fact that I thought was the amount of money that our federal government spends on food programs. There were many organizations that I have never heard of before or heard of but did not know what they specically did or who they targeted. I read over all the handouts and I will believe these will be good references throughout my career.

April 17, 2012

In class we had a speaker, Nick Claussen from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. He talked about many different statistics of those who are food insecure. He explained that the program is designed to not to provide enough food for the family for the entire month. This program is a government program to help those who do not have a healthy intake of nutrition due to lack of resources. The state government sponsor's the program and monitors the use of the cards and catches any errors  in the screening process. The purpose of SNAP is to help individuals who do not get enough nutritionally sound foods into their diets. This is a crucial part to these people, because the impoverished are more likely to get sick, etc . so they need these types of foods. The role of the nutrition professional is mostly education to the recipients of the benefits. This will help them make the best decisions when going  to use their SNAP cards at the store or the farmers market. The farmers market should really be pushed by professionals because they are so fresh and nutritious and will give them the best benefits.

April 12, 2012

On Thursday we continued the lecture on Health and Nutrition Policy. After the lecture, we got into our groups. We discussed what types of produce we would try to grow. This was a good discussion and we decided need to go back and really make sure we have good  reasons for growing each vegetable/fruit.

April 10, 2012

We started off class with  a ice breaker. Dr. Holben wrote food security on the board and we had to finish the statement. He explained how this could be helpful for a group of people to see how much they know about a certain topic. After this, we talked about  Health and Nutrition Policy. This is very important to know, I never really considered that part before this class.

April 5, 2012

Today in class we continued our discussion on food insecurity and went over The Guide to Measuring Household Food Security. This was interesting to see how this is screened for and eye-opening that Ohio is the 6th in the nation in food insecurity. During the second half of class we received our agencies and group topics. For the agency assignment, I was assigned Bread for the World and I honestly have never heard  of this program. I am excited to learn about this program and all the other programs that  I am unfamiliar with. For the group project, my group's population is females 12 to 18, during puberty in the Athens area. I believe this will be very exciting to research and learn about. Also, the garden plot is also something I am looking forward to because I have never gardened before.

April 3, 2012

Today we met at the community garden with Megan. Megan showed us where all the supplies were and where our garden plot was. After talking with Megan and asking her questions, we split into our four groups and had a discussion. For our group we talked about different target groups we could possibly do. One group we discussed was girls during puberty. During this time it is very important for girls ages 12 to 18 need to have proper nutrient intake during this crucial time. We thought that many girls are not getting enough of the nutrients they need and we gives us a big range to decide what type of vegetables we would want to plant in our plot.

March 29, 2012

For class today we went over the community nutrition paradigm. All the components are very important important, but it is essential that evaluation is part of every component and it happens frequently. Also we discussed the steps  to a community needs assessment. These steps are essential, and lead to an action plan for the problem at hand. These two concepts are a very important base to community nutrition and is the basic understanding you need to fully apply concepts to all the components.

March 27, 2012

Community nutrition is very dynamic and has many components. Up to this point, I have not been exposed to all of the components,  but I would love to learn more about it. I would like to explore all my options and see if this could lead to what I want to include in my professional endeavors.  I believe community nutrition is all about food availability, access and safety. Also I believe the whole process is an  important concept for every individual to be aware of. For this class I am excited to learn more and actually experience being a part of the process. Some projects could include the garden, a food drive, or workshops on various topics of community nutrition components.