Writer: Kay Ledbetter, 806-677-5608, skledbetter@ag.tamu.edu
Contact: Dr. Angela Burkham, 806-677-5600, aburkham@ag.tamu.edu
AMARILLO – A Growing Your Health Summit will be presented March 29 by the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service and the Texas Hunger Initiative–Amarillo Region at the Hillside Christian Church North Grand Campus, 3508 N.E. 24th Ave., Amarillo.
The event will begin with registration at 8:30 a.m. and conclude by 3:30 p.m. Registration is $15 by March 22 and $25 at the door the day of the conference. To register, go to http://agrilife.org/nrfcs/growing-your-health-summit/.
Five general continuing education units will be offered by AgriLife Extension.
The summit is an opportunity for agency representatives, school districts, churches and individuals from across the High Plains region to share their knowledge and expertise about health and wellness, food insecurity and prospective methods to overcome it, said Dr. Angela Burkham, AgriLife Extension family and consumer sciences state program leader in Amarillo.
“We are excited about the partnership of AgriLife Extension and Texas Hunger Initiative in the development of this summit,” Burkham said. “It is designed to encourage the exchange of ideas and to strengthen partnerships as we move closer to our goal of growing a healthier High Plains.”
Dr. Holly Bellah, instructor of social work at West Texas A&M University, Canyon, will open the program with “Understanding how ‘culture’ plays a role in effective service marketing, education and delivery.”
A sociological theory of cultural dimensions will be presented, followed by a discussion on cultural barriers and ways to overcome those obstacles. Participants will be asked to discuss these barriers and possible solutions during the morning session and think about them throughout the day as they experience the breakout sessions and keynote address.
Breakout sessions in the morning and afternoon will follow three different tracts: “Health and Wellness,” “Strategies and Best Practices,” and “Planting and Growing.” These will be:
– “Healthy Eating on a Budget” – Lizabeth Gresham, AgriLife Extension Potter County family and consumer sciences agent. Gresham will provide tips on how to stretch food dollars by planning ahead, budgeting, making smart food choices and preparing low-cost nutritious meals. She will also share an overview of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits for Potter/Randall counties and engage in a nutritious low cost meal demonstration and sampling.
– “Turn Over a New Leaf-Gardening 101” – Liz Moore, AgriLife Extension Randall County horticulture agent, Canyon. Participants will learn the basics of gardening, including how to extend the growing season by starting seedlings indoors, what vegetables can successfully be grown and how/when to plant a fall and spring garden to provide vegetables longer.
The keynote speaker, Jody Holland, a motivational speaker from Amarillo, will address “Mindset – How to help people change their beliefs and change their life.” This program outlines the process of retooling any component of a person’s belief system in order to make a better life for themselves.
In the afternoon, the tracts will continue with:
– “Physical Activity for your Health” – Suzi McKee, owner and personal trainer at Live-Well-Fit, Amarillo, will discuss fitness and wellness through simple lifestyle changes.
– “Square Mile Industries” – Brady Clark, Hillside Christian-North Grand Campus pastor, Amarillo. Square Mile Industries plans to develop a Square Mile Market, a locally staffed neighborhood market and cafe focused on long-term community transformation. This session will outline the vision for the market as it will provide an underserved community the opportunity to purchase healthy food, train for living wage jobs and connect with community partners for additional resources.
– “Backyard Basics in the Panhandle” – Amy Wagner, AgriLife Extension Randall County family and consumer sciences agent, Canyon. This session will talk about how these programs support healthy living through home-based food production, preparation and preservation, and participants will make a homemade freezer jam.
The closing speaker will be Dr. Russell Lowry-Hart, Amarillo College president. He will present “Leading to a healthy community: The intersection between education, poverty and you.”
“At Amarillo College, we have developed a comprehensive approach to improving our students’ education attainment in the classroom by systematically removing life barriers outside the classroom,” Lowry-Hart said. “If the Texas Panhandle is to survive and thrive, we must improve our partnerships across all sectors to ensure our students have a healthy and prosperous future.”
For more information, contact Burkham at aburkham@ag.tamu.edu or Jennifer Ashley at jennifer_ashley@baylor.edu.
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