May 20, 2010

Today our group met for a recap on where we are in our projects. I think we are right on target and should have a great outcome when we are all finished. I think one thing that we might need to work on to make our project the best we can is communicating a little bit better. I am not familiar with the people in my group as others are and would like to be communicating more but I am really enjoying the people that I am working with. We all get along great and are really coming far in our planning. I am looking forward to having days just to focus on our projects and finalize what we have planned for our final presentation!

May 18, 2010

Today was another successful planting day at Arts West. I was overwhelmed with the amount of fun I had planting the trees and bushes. I did not realize how much I really enjoyed planting and gardening until this class. I have fallen in love with it and will continue planting/gardening for the rest of my life. I am really excited to also see how they turn out when harvested. I have gone out of my way to take my friends there and show them what we have planted and started here in the community. They love that we now have these fruit trees available to the community.

I am also really excited for our own garden for we have seen our seeds sprouting now and are on their way to producing food! This is really exciting and I cannot wait to see where they are at the end of the quarter. I will be here in the summer as well and would love to help harvest them if any more help is needed or wanted! I would be more than willing to help out!

May 11, 2010

Today was a great day with our speaker from WIC. I am a big supporter of this program and could see myself working there in my future. WIC was what really inspired me to go into family studies along with some nutrition. I have learned that there are many opportunities that I can do with these two areas of study. I think that a lot of women who are pregnant or have just had a baby are lacking the right nutrition especially those who are in low-income families. I think this program is far beyond the programs like food stamps becasue of the nutritional requirements and the certain foods that they only allow the families to purchase. I think that is what makes WIC stand out from all the other supportive agencies. I was also very impressed with the information and the presentation of the speaker. She seemed very passionate about her job and really knowledgable about the WIC program. She was also really inspiring in general for us students who are close to graduating to find jobs where we are passionate and wanting to make a difference in people's lives. She was also really encouraging and I hope to have a job like her's where I feel the same about my work as she does.

May 6, 2010

Today was probably my favorite day of class so far! I always enjoy being outside and working in the community any way I can and this was the perfect thing for me. I love planting and gardening in general and to plant fruit trees for the community was something that I want to keep doing! It was so great to work out in the field and see first hand what community nutrition is really about. I am excited to watch them grow and produce fruit and possibly help take care of them if needed.

I also got to finally plant our seeds and plants out at our garden over the weekend and am really excited for them to grow. Our garden looks great and I am anxious to see how many of our seeds survive. I have never planted with just seeds before only with starter plants. I actually got my seeds from White's Mill which was my first time visiting. I fell in love with White's Mill because everything they had to offer blew my mind. They had just about every plant and seeds needed to plant and what could be planted in this area. They were very helpful and nice that I talked to one lady for a while. I took time to walk around the whole place to make sure I was aware of all the things they had for the community and so I could tell others about it too. If only I had become aware of White's Mill earlier in my time here in Athens, but one year left I think is good time for me to use it to its full potential!

May 4, 2010

Today we had a great speaker, Heidi Anderson, who gave a great talk about community nutrition. I was not even aware of the position and job opportunities they had at WellWorks. I really am inspired by the work and programs that WellWorks does. I have been to WellWorks several times but did not know much about what it offered to the community. I got the feeling that it was mostly geared towards OU members but was informed that they do community events as well. I was also really inspired by all the things that Heidi has accomplished not just at WellWorks but at WIC too. I am really excited about learning more and more about WIC on the 11th from our own county WIC consultant. I hope to obtain and achieve the experience and career opportunities along the lines of what Heidi has and what she has shared with us.

April 29, 2010

Today we finished up the agency discussions and also had a wonderful speaker, Bryant Terry. I also went to the demonstration he had later that night and learned so much more about him and what he has done. He is very inspiring and encouraging to make a change and how important it is for people to eat healthy and sustainable. Bryant Terry is a very educated man and you can tell by how he presents himself and his information. His education in history and english is nothing compared to what he has learned from his grandparents, who have made a huge impact on his life and has inspired him to continue his education at culinary school. As much as I learned from Bryant, I think my favorite part about his talk later that night was the samples of a dish he prepared. It was a concoction of chard cooked in a pan of boiling oil with mince garlic. He then added golden raisins and a splash of orange juice. This was one of the best vegan dishes I have ever eaten. It was so full of flavor and yet so simple and easy to cook. I am really interested in possibly getting his cookbook and trying more vegan meals and foods. I am not vegan or vegetarian but would love to venture out and try these dishes and possibly adding meat in for my own source of protein.

April 27, 2010

Today we discussed our research on several agencies that involve nutrition, health, the community and dietitians. I was not aware of the amount of different groups that promote and advocate nutrition in the community. It is so important as professionals to know the in's and out's of resources that we can give our clients to help then with any need they might have. I have actually really come to love the program that I researched. I did not know that Head Start and any part of nutrition incorporated into the program. I have come to love the program and have found that AmeriCorp offers a position for Head Start and I have made a commitment with myself that I will apply for this job after I graduate next spring. This program seems to be a perfect fit for me to be working with families and children and adding in nutrition as well. I am really excited about getting to know more about this program and what other things they offer.

I was also intrigued by all the other agencies that were discussed. I love that there are so many different ways to get involved as a professional giving people in this field a variety of ways to put their knowledge and profession into practice. I will always have these handouts for future reference of my work as a professional.

Ohio State Extension (April 22, 2010)

Today we met at the OSU extension center and was well informed on everything that goes on there. I have heard of the extension center through a friend and from my previous major, Family and Consumer Science Ed. I think that everything that goes on through this center is a great way to help this community out and provide resources to help individuals when they are in need. I am finding more and more resources like the extension center that do great and wonderful things for the community. I love this and am so passionate about helping families in need and helping any way I can and know how. I am very thankful to learn about these resouces and will definitely keep all of this ideas and programs in mind when working with families in my future.

So far the extension program has accomplished so many things from when it was first created. Rory did an outstanding job with presenting the information to us, it seemed almost night and day compared to the last speaker. Learning more and more about each resource I am starting to see connections with other service organizations and resouces showing that the community works together to benefit the people of the community. What a great step this is to creating a strong, healthy community.

April 20, 2010

Our guest speaker from Jobs and Family Services seemed like he didn't really prepare for his presentation. I thought he was knowledgable about Food Stamps to a certain extent. Overall, I learned a great deal about Food Stamps and really enjoyed the time we had today for discussion afterwards. I really like discussion time so that we as students have a chance to share our own experiences and relate them to what we are learning in class.
Discussing policy has never been a favorite of mine but I was really interested in the programs that policy has created. We went over programs in class and I am going to research them to learn more about how policy effects our community. I am hoping that I will use these policies in my later careers working with families and nutrition.

Tour of Community Gardens (April 15, 2010)

The community garden is one of my favorite things about living in Athens. I love that the city provides a place for the community to come and learn how to grow their own food and learn how to live with a healthful diet. Patty was very informant on what all goes on through CFI and the community gardens. I have been to one meeting of CFI where we learned how to make pizza from the bakers at Avalanche. The tour made me really excited about planting in our garden. I am learning that this is a great way to promote nutritious lifestyles and help educate families how easy it can be to incorporate home grown vegetables and fruits. I got a chance to start on the garden and prepare it for planting soon. Having a garden could also be a great tool to help lower income families get the proper nutrition from growing their own foods. Planting foods that grow each year is cheap and resourceful.

April 13, 2010

Today was the finishing of Food Security. I am very fortunate to have been blessed with the family that I was born into. I have always had food on my plate even when my family was struggling financially. I have always done things with my church that helps the low-income population and providing food for those in need. It's not until I have been away at college and have been on my own that I have come close to experiencing what it's like to not have food to eat. The first two years of college it was fine because my parents saved enough money for me to have tuition and board paid for. It was great not having to worry about that. The next two years have been a different story. Now that I am in charge of buying and making my own food, it is harder to get all the things I want and need. In the past couple of months I have been low with money for food because I have had to pay bills and my rent all of the year. It is very tough but the one thing that has saved me from being evicted or bankrupt is my parents. They are the lifesavor when I am drowning in life. They have been there so much for me when I have failed finacially. I realize that even though I may be struggling with my money, I still have a safe haven to call home where I know I can have food if I really needed it. It is hard to realize that I have to ask for help in getting the resources I need because I do not like when people go out of their way to do things for me, but thats just the way I am and need to get over it. Going through this, I know I need to do my duties and help those in need so that they can have a safe haven to fall back on as well.

Poverty Assimilation

The poverty assimilation was amazing and had a huge impact on everyone that attended. I, for one, got so stressed during the event that I could never imagine what it would feel like to actually go through this everyday. I literally feared for my family and child that I would do anything for them. I always made sure that my child was fed and that I was fed. Because I made that my priority, I was late on rent and utility payments and was later then denied the ability to open a checking account on that basis. I was also really upset with the way I was treated from the workers at the different vendors. I was talked down to, scammed, judged, and lied to from the people whom I was seeking trust and help. How are we supposed to let people live like they are nothing? I have been treated like this before but I never thought that it would happen all the time and so frequently. I learned that there are so many things that go into surviving from pay check to pay check. Unlike the other participants, I did not pay much attention to others around me. I was so focused on getting the things that I needed and did not care what other people we doing. It never even occurred to me to ask my neighbors for help. I can see how families could easily depend on each other and create such strong bonds and relationships with one another.

I really liked how we all gathered together after the assimilation and debriefed from the chaos that we just experienced. It was very interesting to hear all of the different stories and ideas people had to try and survive in the "fake" world that we just lived in. After hearing all the struggles people had, it hit me that this is what it's like for people every day, month, and year. I think it is so amazing that a group like Vista puts this on for everyone can understand a little bit more how some people live. I came home that night and sat down on my couch for a bit just to think about what I just experienced. I looked all around me and felt so blessed for the things that I have and for what I have been provided with my whole life. I feel very fortunate to be where I am in life even though I struggle with things of my own. I know that this experience will help me realize how lucky I am to have the things that I do even though it may be hard at times. I will never forget this and I know that it will come in handy when i work with families in the future.

Food Inc. Pictures

This is a picture of a normal chicken on the left and what farmers are producing now on the right. The chicken on the right is grown in about 20 less days and is fed foods that is not meant for a chicken to eat. It is unnatural.




This is one of the title pictures but shows how the farms are not run by farmers but by factories, the food industry and by the government.









This is a handout that I got with the movie that helps everyone to change the way we eat in 10 simple ways.

April 8, 2010

Today we finished up talking about food security and watched a very powerful video about issues with food security in Ohio. This video really hit home for me because I have had to go to soup kitchens before for meals when I did not have the funds or resources at home to prepare meals for myself. Hearing the testimonies from the interviewee's was even more powerful and hard to see the amount of people who depend on things like this. Food is one of the life essentials and for people to have to depend on soup kitchens and organizations that give free food out is heart breaking. I know that Southern Ohio is one of the poorest parts of the country, I just feel that as people in the nutrition workforce, we need to get out in the community and help those start their own garden and teach others how to produce their own food. One thing that I am really passionate about is the movie Food Inc. I own the movie and have tried to show it to all my friends to bring to their attention how the food industry has come to the point it's at now. I could go on and on about it but the main point is that we all need to be knowledgable about the food that we eat to sustain our health and well-being. I am looking forward to our group projects to learn how to start community gardens and promote healthy living in the community.

April 6, 2010

In class today, we discussed what creating and conducting a need's assessment. I have done a needs assessment before but was never informed all of the details that a need's assessment really requires for it to be the most effective. I was very helpful to not only learn the seven steps to a needs assessment but to go over them in detail made the aspect of conducting a needs assessment a lot easier. I will use these instructions and details to create and follow through with finding out what our community needs. I hope to find the needs of the community in an effective way and to be able to understand what it is that our community needs nutritionally.

Organic Workshop

April 1, 2010 - Organic Workshop (Also MY first day of class)

The organic workshop was a real eye-opener. I have been wanting to start my own garden but have been limited due to moving houses every year in college. All of the information provided was so helpful for anyone who wants to start planting and becoming more organic. The speakers were great in providing the information that everyone can understand. One of my favorite parts of the workshop was the hands on aspect. From making the snacks during the break to feeling the different kinds of soils brought in was a great learning experience.

I was also very thankful for the resources given for the attendees to take home and keep for further reference and preparation to start their own gardens. The USB tool was a great gift that I have shared with my friends already and have showed them what I learned and discussed. I also love all the seeds that we got to choose from to begin our own adventures in creating a garden. This was truly a great experience for both students and the community of Athens to come and learn about how to grow and consume locally produced foods.