COLLEGE STATION — The Texas GROW! EAT! GO! program’s county implementation effort has received a 2014 Superior Service Award in the team category from the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service.
Superior Service Awards recognize Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service faculty and staff members who provide outstanding performance in AgriLife Extension education or other outstanding service to the organization and to Texans.The award was presented Jan. 6 during the Texas A&M AgriLife Conference in College Station.
The Texas GROW! EAT! GO! team consists of numerous Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service agents, specialists, associates and others, as well as employees of the Prairie View A&M Cooperative Extension Program and the agency’s Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program, known as EFNEP. According to the award nomination, the four-county team of AgriLife Extension, associated agency volunteers and school district leaders came together in 2012-2013 to help prevent childhood obesity, a prevalent condition associated with lifelong health issues and increased school absence, lower grades and lower state-mandated test scores.
“This project gave Agrilife Extension an opportunity to extensively evaluate behavioral outcomes for two of our excellent programs — the Junior Master Gardener program and Walk Across Texas — by partnering with university researchers,” said Dr. Judy Warren, AgriLife Extension special initiatives coordinator andprincipal investigator on the project, College Station. “Research results documented modest reduction of obesity, significant increases in vegetable exposure and preference, and in nutrition and plant science knowledge. We also documented reduced consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages and increases in physical activity.”
The team includes: AgriLife Extension family and consumer science agents Norma Davila in Nueces County, Sonja Davis in Harris County, Meredith Henry in Walker County, Lexie McGrane in Dallas County, and Elizabeth Trejo in Harris County; Prairie View A&M Cooperative Extension Program family and consumer sciences agents Ashley Moore in Harris County and Stephanie Salinas in Nueces County; AgriLife Extension 4-H and youth development agent Tamra McGaughy in Dallas County and Kristy Titzman in Walker County; and Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program personnel Gloria Fernandez-VanZante in Nueces County and Tonya McKenzie in Harris County.
Other AgriLife Extension personnel include agriculture and natural resources agent Reggie Lepley in Walker County; nutrition education associate Audry Lucio in Nueces County; urban youth development agent Sheryl Nolen in Harris County; and Texas Grow! Eat! Go! project specialists Jeff Raska in Dallas County, Rusty Hohlt in Nueces County and Gail Warren in Walker County.
Area school district personnel named on the award include Klein Independent School District health services coordinator Laurie Combs; Dallas ISD nutrition specialist Jennifer DeHoog; Dallas ISD director of nutrition Margaret Lopez; Huntsville ISD executive director for curriculum and instruction Marjetta Spriggs; and Corpus Christi ISD health and physical education specialist Richard Torres.
Sixteen participating Title 1 schools in the four counties implemented the Coordinated Approach to Child Health, or CATCH for a health oriented school environment. Eighty two teachers implemented Walk Across Texas, Junior Master Gardener or both programs with CATCH. Teachers implemented classroom lessons and were supported by program specialists in each county. These specialists coordinated with county agents and Master Wellness and Master Gardener volunteers to train volunteers and implement supporting activities such as vegetable tastings and recipe demonstrations, assisted in garden builds, and supported Walk Across Texas efforts and other AgriLife Extension programing to youth and adult audiences.
According to the nomination, participation in the TX GROW! EAT! GO! project created many opportunities to expand AgriLife Extension programming and build health focused partnerships in the communities. One school district gained funding for gardens at every school. Parent nutrition education and financial management programs expanded. Another school district partnered with AgriLife Extension on a U.S. Department of Agriculture Farm to School Planning Grant. AgriLife Extension also reached out to families through many other health-promoting programs like Dinner Tonight! and Fuel Up to Play 60.
“The interdisciplinary nature of Texas GROW! EAT! GO! showcases the positive connection between agriculture and health,” Warren said. “These local collaborations clearly demonstrated the effectiveness of working together to improve health outcomes for families.”
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