SAN ANTONIO – Several nutrition classes in 2013 for professionals participating in the Child and Adult Care Feeding Program of the U.S. Department of Agriculture will be held at the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service office, 3355 Cherry Ridge Drive, Suite 208 in San Antonio.
The no-cost nutrition classes have been scheduled to provide support and training to child-care centers that participate in the program, said Dr. Connie Sheppard, AgriLife Extension family and consumer sciences agent, Bexar County.
“The classes, which AgriLife Extension offers jointly with the Texas Department of Agriculture, focus on the what we call the ‘three E’s’ of healthy living – education, exercise and eating right,” she said. “These classes will help participants stay in budget and compliance, get to know creditable foods and beverages, and receive up-to-date materials and resources, while providing an opportunity to share best practices and improve their job skills.”
Sheppard said the classes provide clock-hour credits toward professional child-care certification for attendees.
The dates, times, descriptions and clock hours for classes offered through August are:
— March 19 and May 16 from 9 a.m.-4 p.m., Feeding Infants. Information on nutritious meals meeting USDA infant meal pattern requirements, as well as guidance on infant needs, food safety and sanitation. Six clock hours.
— March 22 and July 31 from 9 a.m.-noon, Menu Planning for Child Care. Tools and recommendations for planning program-reimbursable menus that are nutritious and economical. 3.5 clock hours.
— March 22 and July 31 from 1-4 p.m., Planning Nutritious Snacks. A “team approach” to meeting the nutritional needs of children in child-care facilities allows attendees learn how to develop snack menus meeting USDA meal-pattern requirements and Texas Department of Agriculture recommendations. 3.5 clock hours.
— April 12 and August 8 from 9 a.m.-4 p.m., Off to a Good Start for Adult Day Care. Provides guidance for planning nutritious snacks, meals and menus for meeting the program’s adult day care requirements, plus covers basic sanitation and health practices for adult day care operations. No clock hours.
— June 21 from 9 a.m.-4 p.m., Kitchen Math. Information and skills to help determine the correct amount of food for the number of children at a facility. Attendees should bring the USDA Food Buying Guide, a calculator and facility menu. No clock hours.
Sheppard said parking is free and class attendees are welcome to bring a brown-bag lunch, but there are several fast food restaurants in the vicinity of the AgriLife Extension office.
For more information on these and other upcoming nutrition classes in the San Antonio area, contact Sheppard at 210-467-6575 or csheppard@tamu.edu.
To register for one or more of these classes, go to the Learning Management System website at https://lms.tda.state.tx.us/stc/training/. For questions about registering through the site, email FNDTrainingUnit@TexasAgriculture.gov or call 512-475-0586.
Seating for all these classes is limited and there may not be room for walk-in participants, so it is important to register through the Learning Management System site, Sheppard said. Walk-ins will need to present their program contract number.
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