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	Success

• Empowering Older Adults to Take Charge of Their Health
• Nutrition Lessons Educate Today, Pay Off in Better Health Tomorrow
• Sudanese are Eager to Learn the American Way
• The Spanish Food Safety Class Continues to be a Big Success

Empowering Older Adults to Take Charge of Their Health

In Nebraska the percent of person 65 years and over is steadily increasing. As our communities age it is important that older adults do not fall to the waist side. Older adults deserve to receive quality education that will empower them to live long and healthy lives. In the area of nutrition older adult’s face many barriers that make it difficult for them receive the vital nutrients their bodies need. “I have trouble chewing.” “Food just doesn’t taste the same.” “It’s hard to cook for one person.” “I’m no longer allowed to drive.” “I’m just not that hungry.” The Nutrition Education Program (NEP) in Douglas and Sarpy counties is actively educating limited resource older adults on ways to overcome these barriers. A survey was developed and administered to measure the behavior changes of older adults that had received a minimum of six nutrition lessons from NEP staff within the last two years. Of those surveyed 71% improved upon their diet quality by drinking more water, eating foods high in fiber, eating breakfast, choosing foods lower in fat and cholesterol, eating more fruits and vegetables. Furthermore, 76% of those surveyed improved their food safety practices by washing their hands more often and by not leaving food out at room temperature for more than two hours. These positive behavior changes will result in an improved quality of life.

Many of the older adults express appreciation for the nutrition education they receive. A recent graduate of the program stated, “I really enjoy attending the lessons and learning a lot more about what I eat. I am so much more aware of fiber, fats, water and all the nutrition facts we would have in mind in the selection and preparation of foods. I enjoyed every part of the program. I am sure I can speak for all of the people who attend the program that it is a very valuable program.”

From October 2003 to October 2005, 235 limited resource older adults received a series of nutrition education classes. The classes were taught at eight community sites throughout Douglas and Sarpy counties. Clients are taught a series of classes that teach them how to: budget their food dollars, choose foods that are easy to chew, prepare foods that stimulate there taste buds, keep foods safe to eat, cook for one, and choose foods that are high in fiber, low in fat and low in cholesterol.

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Nutrition Lessons Educate Today, Pay Off in Better Health Tomorrow

American adults are making headlines for being the most obese population in the world. We are paying a high price for the resulting health problems of obesity. It is important to educate America’s children about the importance of good nutrition and physical activity. Youth in Douglas and Sarpy counties are receiving education that will equip them with the knowledge to make healthy choices about what they eat and how to incorporate physical activity into their everyday lives.

The teachers who have received the Nutrition Education Program (NEP) School Enrichment Program (i.e. kits) in their classrooms have stated that the program is a valuable addition to the science and health curriculum. “The curriculum is very age appropriate, complete, and student centered. It was awesome.” “The children were very interested, and they made a good concrete connection with why their bodies need the right foods.” “The kit was well-organized and very informational.”

Teachers have noticed changes in students’ food choices or behaviors as a result of receiving the Nutrition School Enrichment Program. “My entire class now talks about healthy food and what they should not eat.” “My students made a decision not to drink as much pop after doing the pop experiment.” “The students want to wash their hands more and get upset when the soap runs out. They also want to wash the tops of their desks off more because of germs.” “Now that the students are aware of all the germs on their hands, 95% of them spend more time washing their hands.”

Nutrition curriculum for elementary schools was developed by Lancaster county Nutrition Education Program in 1998. This curriculum has evolved and been adapted by Nutrition Education Programs in Douglas, Sarpy, Adams, Hall, and Scottsbluff counties to further provide nutrition education to limited resource elementary schools. Limited resource schools are defined as those where 50% or more of the children receive free or reduced lunch.

The delivery method of the program is as follows. NEP staff delivers nutrition kits to qualifying classrooms as requested and presents the initial hand washing presentation to the students. Each kit is grade specific and contains one to two hour block lesson plans, plus additional activities. All supplies are provided in the kits. The teachers teach the curriculum in the kit to their students over a three week time period. After the three week time period NEP staff picks up the kits and provides a follow up lesson which includes a food preparation activity.

A total of 776 students were taught from August 2004 to May 2005 at 8 schools in 43 classrooms. Of the students 161 were white, 394 African-American, 205 Hispanic, 15 American Indian, and 1 Asian/Pacific Islander. The total hours taught by NEP staff was 96 hours. The total hours taught by Omaha Public School teachers was 216 hours.

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Sudanese are Eager to Learn the American Way

In 1996 Omaha had approximately 30 Sudanese families and currently it is estimated that 4,000 Sudanese refugees reside in the Omaha Community. It has been said that Omaha has the largest growing Sudanese population in the United States. This is thought to be because of Omaha’s established Sudanese community, affordable housing, plentiful jobs, and good schools.

Sudanese refugees are faced with countless challenges. They need assistance with things that we take for granted like grocery shopping, using a microwave, and turning a water faucet on or off and to hot and cold.

Recently NEP worked in cooperation with the Director of the Sudanese Community to offer a series of lessons the Sudanese Community. The lessons focused on food preparation, money management, calcium intake, kitchen and food safety. The food preparation activity involved making an American food “hamburgers.” Prior to the activity many of the participants stated that they had never seen or used a skillet before. All of the clients participated in making the hamburgers and they were very pleased with what they had accomplished. One participant commented that he planned on going home that night and preparing hamburgers for his family.

After the program the participants were asked what they had learned from the lessons. They made the following comments:

“I didn’t know . . .

• how to make hamburger patties.”
• not leave a handle of pots sticking out from the stove in order to avoid accidents.”
• to compare prices when shopping to save money.”
• how to use frozen meats and how long to store in the refrigerator."
• how long to keep leftovers.”
• how to properly wash my hand.”

Hands on activities proved to be an extremely effective way to over come the language and cultural barriers. One participant stated: “We could listen and act like we know what you are talking about but we do not know. But when you say it, we hear it, and then we do it. You had us do it (wash hands and safely prepare food) and you saw we did not know how to do everything we said we did but now we know how to wash our hands properly, prepare food safely, and how to save money when grocery shopping.”

Sudanese are eager to learn about American life and to make good decisions for their families. Their enthusiasm to learn was very exciting. NEP is continuing to provide food and nutrition education to Sudanese in the Omaha Community.

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The Spanish Food Safety Class Continues to be a Big Success

Spanish food safety programs are taught at the Douglas/Sarpy County University Extension Office in conjunction with the Douglas County Health Department. These classes are free and taught entirely in Spanish. A total of nine classes have been offered at the Douglas/Sarpy County Extension office since 2001. There have been 161 participants represented forty Omaha restaurants.

Following the class participants were asked to fill out a survey regarding the quality of the program. Each participant replied that yes they learned something new from taking this class, yes they would recommend this class to others, and yes they will apply what they learned to their work or home. The participants made the following comments:

• “This is a good way to prevent sickness. I want this program to continue.”
• “The teacher explained very good and interesting.”
• “Everything was perfect.”
• “The class was very interesting and taught about the most important facts.”
• “She had a lot of patience.”

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