Better Living for Texans: New year, available curriculums, & partnering with you
By Lindsey Breunig-Rodriguez
Every year we like to provide program updates and share new curriculum. Do not worry, next month we will back to regular scheduled fruit and veggie facts.
Greetings from the McLennan County Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service! My name is Lindsey, and I am the Extension agent for the Better Living for Texans (BLT) Program. BLT is a nutrition education program for adults and youth who are SNAP participants or SNAP eligible, and in October we kicked off our 26th year of serving Texans.
Programs are free and rooted in research. Evidence-based information empower individuals, families, and communities to make positive changes for healthier lives. Whether we meet in-person, online, virtually, or through a combination of methods, we are here to serve you. This monthly update will feature our available curriculum. You will see that BLT is for all Texans.
Curriculum Highlights:
FOCUS: NUTRITION
A Fresh Start to a Healthier You! – Target Audience: Adults
Promotes increasing fruit and vegetable intake, food safety, and food resource management.
A Fresh Start to a Healthier You! – ONLINE – Target Audience: Adults
Promotes increasing fruit and vegetable intake, food safety, and food resource management.
Conducted completely online.
Get the Facts – Target Audience: Adults
Teaches how to read Nutrition Facts Labels and identify portion sizes, sodium, fat, and added sugar found in foods.
Healthier Carbohydrates -Target Audience: Adults
Promotes a healthful eating pattern to prevent or delay diet related chronic diseases
Be Well, Live Well – Target Audience: Older Adults
Promotes nutrition and physical activity specifically targeting older adults
Color Me Healthy – Target Audience: Preschoolers and Kindergarteners
Provides fun, innovative, interactive learning opportunities on physical activity and healthy eating.
Balancing Food & Play – Target Audience: 3rd-5th graders
Promotes good nutrition and healthy weight; physical activity; limiting screen time; increase fruit and vegetable intake; drinking milk with meals and water with snacks.
Choose Healthy – Target Audience: Middle Schoolers
Teaches about MyPlate, physical activity (energy balance), making healthy food choices, and choosing healthy drinks.
FOCUS: GARDENING
Growing and Nourishing Healthy Communities – Target Audience: Adults
Teaches how to build gardens and grow fresh vegetables.
Learn, Grow, Eat and GO! – Target Audience: 3rd-5th graders
Enhances gardening skills and increased fruit and vegetable intake
FOCUS: PHYSICAL ACTIVITY
Walk Across Texas! (WAT!) – Target Audience: all ages
Promotes increased physical activity through tracking miles walked
Walk N Talk – Target Audience: all ages
Promotes increased physical activity – WAT! with added nutrition messages in a discussion format. Discussion topics are: 1. Fruits and Vegetables, 2. Rethink Your Drink! (hydration, flavored waters, sugary drinks, etc.)
If you have questions, want to plan and brainstorm, or want to hear more, please reach out to Lindsey at McLennan County’s Texas A&M AgriLife Extension office:
Phone, 254-757-5180 or email, [email protected]
Due to the continued spread of COVID-19 and the challenges it poses to communities across Texas, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension and many others continue to practice public health recommendations. Whether we are communicating online or face-to-face know that program content will always be research-backed to help individuals navigate decisions for themselves and their families. For information on resources, ideas, and programs for yourself and family visit Texas A&M AgriLife’s HUB.
USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer. This material was funded by USDA’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program — SNAP. To learn more about the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) or to apply for benefits, visit www.yourtexasbenefits.com
Lindsey Breunig-Rodriguez is an Extension Agent for the Better Living for Texans program with the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service. She is originally from Grapevine but now calls Waco home. A graduate from Baylor University, she loves to venture out to Cameron Park, visit the local Farmers Market, and try out the awesome eateries in Waco. If you see her and hear a loud bark, that’s her pup Lucy Ann just saying hello.
The Act Locally Waco blog publishes posts with a connection to these aspirations for Waco. If you are interested in writing for the Act Locally Waco Blog, please email [email protected] for more information.