National Dairy Council

On Thursday Karen Bakies, the nutrition affairs director for the American Dairy Association Mideast, came to talk with our class. She is a registered dietitian and gives many nutrition education talks to various groups. The National Dairy Council provides timely, scientific-based nutrition information to the media, physicians, dietitians, nurses, educators, consumers and others concerned about fostering a healthy lifestyle. They also administer grants to independent researchers to aid in discovery of new information about dairy foods and their important role in a healthy lifestyle. They are funded by dairy farmers, who give $0.15 for each 100lb of milk produced. There are 31,000 dairy farmers in Ohio with 83 average cows per farm. Karen talked to us about the dairy business, but also talked a lot about good communication. She gave our class many tips on understanding and engaging your audience when giving a speech. She was a very good speaker because of her knowledge of communication. The role of a nutrition professional is important in the dairy industry because it is important to educate individuals about the nutrition of dairy products and the new research that is being discovered.

Needs Assessment

On Tuesday my group met and we worked on our needs analysis for adults in Athens county with hypertension using the DASH diet. For the past 8 weeks we have been passing around our needs assessment workbook, and splitting up the work. We have already made a handout pertaining to DASH as well as a vegetable handout, so we started working on the final write up. We worked well together by taking turns typing and looking up research information or information from our workbook. Everyone helped work on the needs assessment which was really nice and productive.

Good Earth Farm

On Thursday our class went to Good Earth farm and met Jeff and his daughter Ruth. Good Earth farm is a non-profit organization and their goals are to provide healthy food to those who most need it and to provide a place for education and retreat for others. The farm is largely up-kept by volunteer support. Many groups of all ages come to volunteer and learn about agriculture and animals at the farm. The farm is funded by a variety of sources including Jeff and his wife, grants, and donations. For example, there is a donation station at the Athens farmers market.

At first we saw the chickens, and talked about using their eggs. We then saw the cows and sheep. The cows are grass fed and raw milk is often consumed by visitors, but not sold. The sheep help keep the pasture healthy, and their wool is used. Then we saw the garden which was really large and nicely organized. The farm uses compost and cover crops to increase the nutrition of the soil. The food is given to food pantries and individuals who come to the farm to eat. The food that is leftover is canned and distributed as well. There isn't a specific need for a nutrition professional, but i think it is important for a nutrition professional to know where their food is coming from and to help educate others. Jeff is very knowledgeable about gardening and farming practices, and i definitely learned a lot from our visit.

WIC

Today Melissa Alfano, an RD from the Athens and Perry County WIC offices, came to talk with our class. She actually got her undergraduate and masters degree from OU. She told us about WIC and her personal experiences as a dietitian. WIC stands for Women, Infants, and Children and it is a federal program under the USDA. WIC provides Federal grants to States for supplemental foods, health care referrals, and nutrition education for low-income pregnant, breastfeeding, and non-breastfeeding postpartum women, and to infants and children up to age five who are found to be at nutritional risk. It is funded completely by the federal government, but changes can be made a the state level. In order to be eligible, participants have to be 185% of the US poverty line or have a medicaid card. To be a part of an Ohio WIC program, you must be a resident of Ohio. All of the 88 counties in Ohio have an affiliation with WIC. WIC's mission is to safeguard the health of low-income women, infants, and children up to age 5 who are at nutrition risk by providing nutritious foods to supplement diets, information on healthy eating, and referrals to health care.


WIC provides nutrition education to clients as well, and there is a need to nutrition professionals. RDs specifically evaluate high risk clients and provide the appropriate care and nutrition education. Every two years the Athens and Perry county WIC are evaluated at the state level. Research is also done at the federal level to determine the federal budget for the WIC program. 


At my field experience I actually spent some time working at the WIC in Zanesville, Ohio. It was a great experience to work with the community, and be part of a different type of nutrition care than I was used to in the hospital.

Compost Facility and Ecohouse

On Thursday our class went to the compost facility and Ecohouse where we met Annie, who took us through the sites. She works for the Ohio University Office of Sustainability. OU uses an in-vessel composter system that is funded mostly by a $350,000 grant from the Division of Recycling and Litter Prevention within the Ohio Department of Natural Resources. They also received $35,105 from the Department of Developments' Energy Loan Fund for the solar array. The remaining funding is from the OU departments Facilities Management and Auxillaries. Food waste from central foods and shively dining hall is taken to the compost facility in large trash cans without plastic bags. The bins are washed out after each use. The compost facility is currently under construction to expand the area. The compost is used for intramural athletic fields, gardens for plant biology students, and the ecohouse community garden currently.

Annie then took us to the ecohouse where she showed us the outside of the house. There are community gardens, a compost area, water collection jugs, solar panels for electricity, clothes drying lines, and panels for generating heat. These are just some of the sustainable living features. Three students pass an application process every year to live in the house. It is a great opportunity to create a sustainable project or live in a sustainable environment.

OSU Extension

On Tuesday our class went to the Athens County Health Department and heard from Brittany and Joyce. Brittany is the 4H program assistant and she spoke about the 4H program as well as her internship at Disney. Brittney talked about the history of 4H which used to be for only farm children, but has broadened into a program for youth development. 4H gives the children a hands on learning experience, and there are many different avenues available. The 4 Hs stand for head, hand, health, and heart. The program is funded by county commissioners, membership fees, fundraising, and OSU benefits. I was surprised at how many activities are available through the 4H program like agriculture, sewing, and photography. Children are able to interact with each other while partaking in fun educational programs and events.

Joyce spoke more about the OSU extension history and events. Their mission is engaging people to strengthen their lives and communities through research-based educational programming. There are four program areas including agriculture and natural resources, community development, 4-H youth development, and family and consumer science. She talked mostly about the family and consumer sciences area that focuses on healthy families, healthy relationships, and healthy finances. We did an activity about managing finances, which helped demonstrate that small purchases every day can add up over time. She also gave us advice on internships and job opportunities through the health department and OSU extension. There is a role for nutrition professionals in extension that i hadn't previously heard about.

Student Expo and WellWorks

On Thursday I presented my poster at the student expo. My poster was titled Nutrition Knowledge Questionnaire for Athletic Training Students. It was a great experience presenting for the first time at the expo. Remi and I had food models and sports equipment by our posters, and it brought more people to our posters. Many of the AT students who took the survey stopped by to see how the study turned out. A lot of classmates came as well which was nice. I had a chance to walk around and look at other posters as well.

During the second half of class Heidi Anderson from WellWorks came in and talked about her community nutrition and public health experience. I didn't make it to her presentation because I stayed at the expo. However, Heidi is the education and special events coordinator. She is an RD and has a masters in public health. WellWorks mission is to be the highest quality wellness program for our customers and to combine academic and experiential learning for our students. Their vision is WellWorks will be a regionally prominent wellness program that offers a continuum of lifestyle services to impact the health behaviors and wellness culture of our community. I wish I could have heard more of Heidi's personal story and her public health experience.

Meijer Healthy Living

Today Janine Faber, a Meijer Healthy Living Adviser came in to talk with us. She is a dietitian and also has a masters in health promotion and education. She shared her past experience in the nutrition field and how she came to work at Meijer. She gave us a lot of good advice on how to gain experience and sell yourself for a job. She is the dietitian who is in charge of managing Central and Southern Ohio and Louisville and Lexington in Kentucky. The goal of the Meijer Healthy Living program is to increase sales and promote customer loyalty by creating and communicating healthy solutions and product knowledge to shoppers. They hold many community events and in store events, but also make media appearances and publications. These events are funded by sponsorship of companies. Companies may ask them to sponsor a certain product as long as it is nutritious, and then sponsor an event. She also discussed the NuVal scoring method which was really interesting.

There are five dietitians across the midwest who work in the Healthy Living program. I was amazed at all of they events and activities they partake in. They plan programs together and help each other out, but also receive program ideas from corporations, customers, and Meijer management. The programs are monitored and evaluated by participants after each event, but also by Meijer upper management. Events are constantly evolving and becoming better as time goes on. This is a really interesting job for dietitians, and it definitely opened my eyes to another job possibility.

My group also planted all of our plants in our garden, after doing research. The garden looks really nice, and now we just need to keep an eye on things and water the plants. Our group has also been steadily working on our assessment workbook, which is coming along.