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The purpose of this newsletter is to provide quick contacts to KNN partner agencies and to other resources that might be helpful to our partners. You should be able to read this newsletter in less than 5 minutes – that’s our goal!

KNN October Newsletter

Welcome to the October 2006 issue of KNN’s email newsletter. Please visit our web site at www.kansasnutritionnetwork.org We are always interested in how our partners are “partnering” to improve nutrition and physical activity education throughout Kansas.
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Check out our new link on the KNN web site! On the main page there is now a Pick a Better Snack logo. Click on the link to find helpful hints with recipes.

Upcoming Meetings:

KNN 10th Anniversary Meeting!

October 20th in Wichita

This link provides information on the various Latino cultures that have migrated to this country and became American citizens. http://www.factmonster.com/spot/hhm1.html

The collaborations continue! Your colleagues in Extension en Español have been busy! Many new materials are now available from the publications collection at http://extensionenespanol.net for immediate use in your Spanish-language outreach efforts.

The “10 Myths and Facts Collection” was created to provide a simple way to educate key target populations about the benefits of the Food Stamp Program and dispel common myths.
Seniors: http://www.fns.usda.gov/fsp/outreach/seniors.htm
Working Poor: http://www.fns.usda.gov/fsp/outreach/workingpoor.htm
Immigrants: http://www.fns.usda.gov/fsp/outreach/immigrants.htm
Homeless People: http://www.fns.usda.gov/fsp/outreach/homeless.htm
Disabled People: http://www.fns.usda.gov/fsp/outreach/disabilities.htm


A Wichita organization received an outreach grant from the Food and Nutrition Service in fiscal year 2006, Catholic Charities of Wichita, Inc., $60,528, 2 Year Project. Catholic Charities will participate in community events to educate the community about food stamp benefits and use bilingual staff to do pre-screening and application assistance.

Food-assistance programs provide a safety net to help U.S. households purchase sufficient food. In 2004, adding food stamp benefits to recipients’ incomes raised 9 percent of recipients out of poverty. Food assistance programs, particularly the school meals and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) programs, have also been promoted as offering access to essential nutrients and minerals. http://www.ers.usda.gov/AmberWaves/September06/Features/FoodAssistance.htm

Income fluctuations cause low-income families to cycle in and out of eligibility for food assistance programs. Twenty-eight percent of U.S. households with children experienced at least one monthly income change in the late 1990s that put them above or below the eligibility criteria for many programs. http://www.ers.usda.gov/AmberWaves/September06/Features/IncomeVolatility.htm
This study examines data from a survey of families in South Carolina who left the Food Stamp Program (FSP) between 1998 and 2000. http://www.ers.usda.gov/Publications/CCR22/
The October issue of Preventing Chronic Disease (PCD) is now available at www.cdc.gov/pcd
IOM Report Calls for Greater Leadership, Resources and Evaluation in Childhood Obesity Fight
A new report released by the Institute of Medicine (IOM) finds that, while the nation is beginning to grasp the severity of the childhood obesity epidemic, not enough progress has been made and more resources are needed to tackle the problem.
The risk of obesity among Asian-American children increases the longer they are in the United States. In collaboration with county staff, the University of California Berkeley Cooperative Extension conducted a needs assessment to identify the needs and interests of non-English speaking food stamp recipients about childhood overweight. The results of the needs assessment were used to design a series of culturally sensitive and relevant educational materials that can help immigrant parents understand how they can adapt to a new environment and food supply in a way that will foster the health and welfare of their children. http://nature.berkeley.edu/cwh/activities/asian_lang_publications.shtml
NASPE has developed a formal position paper. Quality physical education and
daily recess are components of the elementary school educational experience that enable students to develop physical competence, health-related fitness, personal and social responsibility, and enjoyment of physical activity so that they will be physically active
for a lifetime.
http://www.aahperd.org/naspe/pdf_files/pos_papers/RecessforElementarySchoolStudents.pdf
The CDC 5 A Day team announces the arrival of the updated 5 A Day website (formally the NCI 5 A Day website) located at http://www.5aday.gov which includes examples of what a cup and a half cup of fruits and vegetables looks like, as well as helpful tips for breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks.

Amber Waves presents the broad scope of ERS’s research and analysis. The magazine covers the economics of agriculture, food and nutrition, the food industry, trade, rural America, and farm-related environmental topics. http://www.ers.usda.gov/AmberWaves/September06/
On the Job, Nursing Mothers Find a 2-Class System
By JODI KANTOR
For lower-income mothers, breast-feeding, and the pumping it requires, is close to impossible at work.
A recent FDA homepage looked frighteningly like the latest copy of "Glamour" or “‘O’ Magazine.” http://www.fda.gov/oc/opacom/hottopics/obesity.html We're told, "You Can Lose Weight—Here's How!" followed by instructions on counting calories, setting weight-loss goals and "giving ethnic foods a try." http://www.infoshop.org/inews/article.php?story=20060831083322906
USDA, Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) has launched a new web page containing additional web resources to assist you in encouraging FNS program participants and staff to take actions to improve their health by making positive changes in key dietary and related behaviors. See http://www.fns.usda.gov/oane/SNAP/TakeAction/TakeAction.htm
for tips on how to promote and Support Breastfeeding Across FNS Programs and
promote Fruits and Vegetables in Your Workplace and Community.
I think our 5 minutes is just about up. Send an email to Karen Fitzgerald kfitzger@ksu.edu if you have information you want to include in next month’s KNN email newsletter.
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