Educators aim to help Chenango ‘eat smart’
NORWICH – The Cornell Cooperative Extension Eat Smart New York Program recently welcomed a new educator to help take on the challenges of promoting a healthier lifestyle.
Newcomer Neisa Pantalia said she has no regrets in pursuing a health related career that requires an active role in the community. “I always saw myself as more of a community person,” she said, reflecting on her career options as a graduate of the dietetic technician program at SUNY Morrisville. She has been shadowing her two colleagues at Eat Smart for nearly two months and won’t be able to conduct her own classes until she finishes her training in March.
As an educator, Pantalia will be responsible for working with community members that qualify for Eat Smart services, including those on Medicaid or receiving food stamps and WIC assistance.
“I can’t wait to jump more into it,” she said Monday before helping facilitate her first session in Greene.
“What a lot of people don’t realize is that it’s not just a cooking class,” said Program Coordinator Betty Clark. “We teach people how to put a recipe together, make healthier choices and make a food budget.”
Like many other non-profits, Eat Smart faced budgetary woes in recent years, leaving the program with enough funding for two part-time educators and Clark – who is also part-time.
Eat Smart’s new educator comes just in time to help the group as they begin a new campaign, “Reducing the Availability of Sugary Drinks in Community Organizations.” Eat Smart recently qualified for a grant of $30,000 through the NYS Department of Health to encourage major employers, agencies and schools in the area to look at “alternatives other than the coke machine,” according to Eat Smart’s sugary drink educator Jacky Knoll-Carr.
The objective, she added, is to encourage community members to drink beverages with 25 calories or fewer. While the stipulations of the grant allow Eat Smart to promote diet and low calorie sodas, “we are choosing not to,” she said. Money will be used for funding staff time, presentation equipment and low sugar drink materials.
“There are proven studies that show sugary drinks are the number one cause of obesity,” added grant coordinator Stacie Edick. Edick, who applied for the noncompetitive grant in December, will be working closely with educators in the program to endorse the cause of eliminating sugary drinks available in workplaces and organizations throughout the county.
Terms of the grant mandate that Eat Smart finds ten large employers to jump on board with the program. Those ten organizations will each receive $600 worth of material – drinks and flavoring – and work closely with Eat Smart to follow through, explained Knoll-Carr. So far, Eat Smart has recruited the Sherburne Rotary Club to commit to the program and since grant funds are only available through the end of March, the organization has targeted a total 25 businesses and organizations in which to present the program.
For more information about Eat Smart New York and the their program, visit the Cornell Cooperative Extension website, ccechenango99.squarespace.com or call Knoll-Carr at 334-5841 ext. 14.
Newcomer Neisa Pantalia said she has no regrets in pursuing a health related career that requires an active role in the community. “I always saw myself as more of a community person,” she said, reflecting on her career options as a graduate of the dietetic technician program at SUNY Morrisville. She has been shadowing her two colleagues at Eat Smart for nearly two months and won’t be able to conduct her own classes until she finishes her training in March.
As an educator, Pantalia will be responsible for working with community members that qualify for Eat Smart services, including those on Medicaid or receiving food stamps and WIC assistance.
“I can’t wait to jump more into it,” she said Monday before helping facilitate her first session in Greene.
“What a lot of people don’t realize is that it’s not just a cooking class,” said Program Coordinator Betty Clark. “We teach people how to put a recipe together, make healthier choices and make a food budget.”
Like many other non-profits, Eat Smart faced budgetary woes in recent years, leaving the program with enough funding for two part-time educators and Clark – who is also part-time.
Eat Smart’s new educator comes just in time to help the group as they begin a new campaign, “Reducing the Availability of Sugary Drinks in Community Organizations.” Eat Smart recently qualified for a grant of $30,000 through the NYS Department of Health to encourage major employers, agencies and schools in the area to look at “alternatives other than the coke machine,” according to Eat Smart’s sugary drink educator Jacky Knoll-Carr.
The objective, she added, is to encourage community members to drink beverages with 25 calories or fewer. While the stipulations of the grant allow Eat Smart to promote diet and low calorie sodas, “we are choosing not to,” she said. Money will be used for funding staff time, presentation equipment and low sugar drink materials.
“There are proven studies that show sugary drinks are the number one cause of obesity,” added grant coordinator Stacie Edick. Edick, who applied for the noncompetitive grant in December, will be working closely with educators in the program to endorse the cause of eliminating sugary drinks available in workplaces and organizations throughout the county.
Terms of the grant mandate that Eat Smart finds ten large employers to jump on board with the program. Those ten organizations will each receive $600 worth of material – drinks and flavoring – and work closely with Eat Smart to follow through, explained Knoll-Carr. So far, Eat Smart has recruited the Sherburne Rotary Club to commit to the program and since grant funds are only available through the end of March, the organization has targeted a total 25 businesses and organizations in which to present the program.
For more information about Eat Smart New York and the their program, visit the Cornell Cooperative Extension website, ccechenango99.squarespace.com or call Knoll-Carr at 334-5841 ext. 14.
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