Nutrition information essential to all ages Story by Emily Every
V
irginia Stanley wants to help boost nutritional literacy in Muskogee
County.
“It’s surprising that people just don’t read nutrition facts labels, or they don’t know that the first ingredient listed is the main ingredient in a food item. It’s stuff like that that we try to teach,” said Area Coordinator Virginia Stanley at the OSU Extension Office. Stanley helps the extension office coordinate and run community nutrition education programs. The Muskogee OSU Extension Office offers nutrition, cooking, physical education and agriculture courses, among others for all age groups. One of Stanley’s personal projects is a nutrition program for older youths called Teen Cuisine. The program includes cooking education, nutrition and physical education for teenagers. “We teach everything: how to measure, budgeting food dollars, the importance of whole grains, nutritious beverage choices and food safety,” Stanley said. “Kids like being able to cook. It’s a hands-on experience. Teenagers especially love learning how to make things like chicken quesadillas and baked potato fries.” Stanley says that kids as young as elementary school age can also benefit from cooking education. Stanley recommends teaching young children the differences between proteins, fats and carbohydrates.
12
Summer Edition 2021
“We try to have them understand the basics,” she said. Food safety is important to learn at a young age. For example, knowing what to do with food that has been left out overnight is an essential learned skill, as is washing hands before meals. “Kids love learning. Younger ones respond really well to lessons on washing hands. We pull out the Glo Germ that shows where they’ve missed spots washing their hands, and they love it,” said Stanley. “We go out to schools once a week for around eight weeks so that they can incorporate what they’ve heard and teachers can talk to them about it all. They really start learning.” Additionally, the office offers courses to adults as well as children and teens. They provide nineweek cooking courses in a similar style to their Teen Cuisine courses. For those more interested in developing gardening skills, the office hosts several agricultural services, including soil testing. Bring in a pint of soil to their office, and they will be able to recommend appropriate fertilizer for its chemical properties. For specific questions on active gardens, such as what causes diseased tomatoes or what sort of bugs are eating your crop’s leaves, Agricultural Agent Todd Trennepohl can help. “Extension is really all about bringing the university to the community,” said Area Coordinator Susie West. For those looking to become involved in the extension’s nutrition, cooking or agricultural services, the office’s website hosts a calendar of their events as well as contact information for its employees.
