Work Travels in May

In addition to getting a puppy and buying our home, the month of May also had me taking a few work trips.  In just over four weeks, I made trips to four of North Carolina's counties to observe "my program."  As a dietitian doing community work for the university, I manage an older adult nutrition education program administered in 19 counties throughout the state.  One of the best parts of my job is getting out into the counties to meet the people that receive the lessons I have created for them.  It's also interesting to watch the county extension agents teach the program and put their own spin on each of the lesson.

As part of the program, older adults participate in activities about food, nutrition, and budgeting.  They receive items, called "extenders," which help them remember and practice what they've learned.  And they get to try foods and recipes that are tasty and inexpensive!

A sample sales flier from the grocery store for the week's activity and vegetable scrub brushes to help older adult clean veggies, but keep the skin on for added nutrients

This week's taste test used varieties of hummus as a dip for raw vegetables

 Another session provides older adults with a sample of roasted vegetables

The nutrition program is usually conducted at a congregate nutrition site, a place where older adults gather for a lunch-time meal.  This year's curriculum focuses on eating fruits and vegetables, so all the food samples include tasty fruits and veggies.  One of the most common things I have heard at each of the sites is rich flavor of the vegetables.  It's great to hear that older adults love the easy and inexpensive vegetables that are a part of the program.  I also credit the county extension agents who prepare these taste tests.

During May, I was able to visit Johnston County, Greene County, Duplin County and Pasquotank County.  Johnston was the closest visit, being less than 30 minutes away and Pasquotank was my overnight trip to the northeast corner of the state (3 hours away).  Both Greene and Duplin were day trips about 1.5 hours from the Raleigh area.

A few notable things occurred during these trips:

1. Upon meeting the county extension agent in Duplin County, I was greeted by a newspaper photographer.  Apparently my visit coincided with the mayor's visit to the site.  The newspaper was there to document the big event in this small town.  So, we all had our photos taken with the mayor and an article should be written in the local newspaper soon. If I hear anything about being famous in southeastern North Carolina, I will certainly share it with you all!

 

The county extension agent with the mayor and site director

2. The following week, in Greene County, I was shaken by the destruction that tornadoes left in this area of North Carolina.  You may recall that in mid-April (2011) much of North Carolina was in a state of emergency due to severe tornadoes.  Well, almost a month later, this was still the scene off the main road leading into the town I visited.

If you look closely, you can see an SUV sitting sideways inside the building closest to my car.  The entire stretch of road showed many homes with a tarp serving as a temporary roof.  You could clearly see the tornadoes destructive path through the area.

While some people in the Raleigh area experienced serious damage, I was lucky to have only lost power for a few hours.  But many of the counties east of Raleigh were not so fortunate.  Much of eastern North Carolina is flat and many people live in mobile homes, a doubly whammy for tornadoes.


I am grateful for the opportunity to travel with my job because I meet so many wonderful people and get to learn about the different areas of the state.  In addition, it is extremely helpful to see how I can improve how we provide nutrition education to low-income residents of North Carolina.  Every positive or negative experience provides me with an opportunity to learn something when I take the time to reflect on it.