Family and Nutrition

Each month the Family Nutrition Program (FNP) provides information on different topics that teach basic nutrition, food safety, food budgeting and healthy lifestyles. FNP is funded with Food Stamp Administrative funds by the Food and Nutrition Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Participants in the Moultrie-Douglas program include families with young children, school-aged youth, retired adults, single parents and people moving from welfare to work. FNP also collaborates with community agencies such as W.I.C., Head Start, county health departments, public schools, libraries, community and senior service centers, grocery stores and food pantries to bring this information to clients.

In 2004-2005:

• 98 young mothers learned to provide better pre-natal and infant nutrition for themselves and their children.
• 212 elementary students learned to make healthy snack choices.
• 308 preschool children learned about fruits, vegetables, and dairy foods and tasted a new food during monthly lessons.
• 286 farm families became more aware of food safety practices during harvest.
• 429 senior citizens improved their dietary quality and increased their activity levels during monthly presentations.
• 74 individuals preserved their garden produce safely by having their pressure canners tested.
• 300 food pantry patrons used recipes provided for commodity foods.
• 144 adults participated in our "Walk Around Illinois" program, walking a total of 12.77 times around the state's border.

In the spring of 2005, 432 employees from Hydrogear, Inc. in Sullivan, participated in a 50-minute financial management session titled "Taking Control of Your Finances." Along with a PowerPoint presentation, participants completed activity sheets and received a packet of materials that addressed topics such as debt management, spending habits, spending plans, expense tracking, and PowerPaying debt. 93% of participants rated the subject matter Excellent or Good; 97% rated the subject matter presentation Excellent or Good; and 96% of participants rated the overall workshop Excellent or Good. "It will be helpful to control the way I spend", "Would recommend this class whether or not you need it", "Very informative - showed options I wouldn't have thought of", "I spent $549 to a company to get the same information" and "Everything was important and useful" were a few of the positive comments made by the participants.

"Intentional Harmony: Managing Work & Life" is a new curriculum which addresses work- life management systematically in five important domains: the individual (including emotional and physical health); partner relationships; parenting; extended family & friend relationships; and work relationships (co-workers and supervisors). Each domain is the subject of a unit (including a PowerPoint presentation; handouts; and electronic resources) that can be used alone or combined to form a longer program. 88 individuals participated in at least one session, with the entire staff of a mental health agency participating in all five - one per month. Other participants included social service employees, childcare providers and parents of young children. Verbal feedback was very positive, and evaluations gathered from childcare providers reflected several goals set due to the workshop - "Schedule exercise time", "Don't hold things in/Discuss and get rid of it", and "Learn to relieve my stress." Handouts from the curriculum had also been distributed at health fairs and expos, and material was also used in newsletters.