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Child Nutrition Education

Our MissionFood$ense

Washington State University Extension provides this program at no charge to schools which 50% or more of the students qualify for free or reduced lunch through a federally funded program by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).

The SNAP-ED Food $ense Nutrition Education Program  has been helping limited resource citizens of Cowlitz County learn how to make better nutritional food choices for 18 years. Nutrition education can effectively help low-income families, especially the working poor, to achieve more nutritious diets and stretch food resources for more days every month.  The goal is to help those receiving Basic Food Benefits to reduce their dependency on Basic Food Benefits and to learn to make more nutritious food choices.

Our Food $ense Educators, Debbie Fredricks and Tina Thompson, work with children and adults. Curriculums are based on the MyPlate method of making healthy food choices. In local Title One elementary schools the program offers six 1 hour nutrition lessons for children in 1st through 5th grade. In addition, six 30 minute nutrition lessons are offered at Head Start. Parent classes are also available at these schools.

Adult classes are available to limited resource audiences. Community organizations working with limited resource audiences are encouraged to contact us to schedule classes for their clientele.

For more information contact Debbie and Tina at:

dfredricks@wsu.edu

thompsont@co.cowlitz.wa.us

360-577-3014 x7

Their programs, taught by trained Nutrition Educators, include curriculums for PreK and 1st-5th grade that are designed to increase student’s knowledge of healthy eating and active lifestyle concepts through fun and interactive lessons.

Essential Academic Learning Requirements (EALRs) were used as guidelines in developing the curriculum, to ensure that the time spent in the classroom is aligned with the objectives of the Washington State Commission on Student Learning.

The Food $ense program teaches in these school districts throughout Cowlitz County: Longview, Kelso, Castle Rock