Daily Nonpareil, Council Bluffs, IA
10-23-06
Nutrition program reaches parents, children
TOM MCMAHON, Staff Writer
Bartholomew Bare Bones' Bloomer Elementary appearance was a hit.
Several of Carrie Belt's third graders laughed when Rachel Summy pulled the
smiling skeleton out of her bag.
"Cool!" one student proclaimed.
"Those are milk bottles," another one called out, making sure everyone in the
class knew Bartholomew wasn't real.
The bony guy decked out in a bow tie and cap wasn't attending Belt's third-grade
class as a Halloween prop, though he would fit right in at that party. On this
particular day, Bartholomew had a more serious message.
Rachel Summy, Youth Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program
educator for West Pottawattamie County Iowa State University Extension,
uses the bony guy to teach Council Bluffs and Lewis Central students nutrition
lessons they might otherwise not care to hear.
"He doesn't have a nose," one of the pupils remarks.
"That is because our nose is not made of bones," Summy tells the inquisitive
youngster.
She has another student come to the front of the class. She gives him a "happy
bone" and keeps one for herself. Summy tells the boy to paper punch holes in his
bone. Then she asks the class, "If my bone breaks and Christopher's bone
breaks, which one will heal faster?"
"Yours," the class replies.
"Why?"
"Because his has holes in it."
It's a way to discuss osteoporosis with 8- and 9-year-olds without all the big
words. Summy's bottom line with the lessons is that the children need to drink
milk and/or other calcium products.
She is a regular fixture in the city's classrooms, stressing the importance of
proper nutrition in keeping healthy. While Summy is at the school, one of her
fellow extension staff members is visiting some of these same students' homes.
Janice Wright, who works with ISU's Adult Expanded Food and Nutrition
Education program, carries a lot of the same messages, but her approach is
geared toward parents.
Wright has been doing the job for 20 years, teaching adults nutrition, health,
exercise, food safety, cooking and grocery shopping tips. While Summy's
program has no income guidelines, Wright's does. Clients must also have a
children 10 or under.
"We teach the parents so they will teach their children," she said.
She said one of the biggest factors impacting families' nutrition today is the
amount of fast food we eat.
"It is high in fat and low in nutrition," Wright said, adding many young adults grew
up on fast food and never really learned how to cook. "I tell them it is cheaper
and healthier to cook at home."
Wright pulls plastic food replicas out of her satchel. A bowl of vegetables,
hamburger buns and meat are among the items. She uses her props to teach
people about proper food portions.
"The hamburger bun is actually two portions," she said. Wright said Americans
tend to eat portions that are too big.
Her first order of business is doing a "recall" with each client. She makes a list of
all foods the person ate in the last 24 hours, plugs the information into a
computer program, and discusses the nutritional value of the past day's diet.
"It is really an eye opener for some," she said. "They can see how they are not
eating a balanced meal."
Wright said in addition to the recall, each client also completes a questionnaire
that indicates his or her nutritional habits. At the end of her eight in-home
sessions, clients complete another recall and questionnaire. Wright said
participants' show a 98.9 percent improvement in their dietary intake upon
completing the program.
Wright and two other part-time adult educators trained 281 clients last year, most
of them in Council Bluffs. Summy, whose focus is on second, third and fourth
graders, presents her nutrition education to about 3,000 children each year. That
includes summer programs with Kids and Company and area childcare centers.
Summy said her classes meet state science/health requirements. Both programs
rely on ISU's expertise in developing program content.
"A lot of kids today are making their own food choices," Summy said. "I am
surprised by the number who don't eat breakfast. I hope to make a difference in
their lives. And it's fun, too."
Wright said she sometimes meets Summy's students during her home visits.
"I often see one of their nutrition papers hanging from the refrigerator," she said.
"They will make comments some time and you can tell the program has affected
them."