Washington County EFNEP at UAEX

Miguel Lopez, EFNEP Educator leads a group of middle schoolers at Springdale Public Library through a series of breathing exercises. The group also used exercise dice to complete some strength exercises and talked about ways they like to be active. After setting a physical activity goal for the week, the students made fruit smoothies for their post workout snack.

Join the NWA EFNEP Team! We are looking for a bilingual nutrition educator to teach nutrition and cooking classes to families in Northwest Arkansas. To read about the position or to apply, go to https://uada.edu/jobs and search for Posting . If you would like additional information, call Cathy at 479-271-1060 or email [email protected].

The students at Dogwood Literacy got moving yesterday with a series of exercises to raise their heartrate. Miguel Lopez, EFNEP Nutrition Educator shared about the benefits of regular physical activity and encouraged everyone to fit activity in their daily lives.
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Miguel Lopez, EFNEP Nutrition Educator talks about knife safety at our first Teen Cuisine lesson at the Springdale Public Library. Miguel will be there for the next 5 weeks teaching about healthy eating, food safety, physical activity, and how to prepare healthy recipes.

Recent storms and tornados in Northwest Arkansas have many of us wondering how we can be better prepared to feed our families while the electricity is out. Use this list to start creating a pantry of "no cook" foods that are safe to eat when you can't use the stove, microwave, or refrigerator. https://content.ces.ncsu.edu/foods-that-require-no-cooking
Credit: North Carolina Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service
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Thank you to Dogwood Literacy Council for inviting us to take part in their summer health literacy program. Miguel Lopez, EFNEP Nutrition Educator presented the first of a series of nutrition/cooking lessons today. Participants learned about knife skills and worked as a group to make an Apple Fruit Salad.

Congratulations to the Northwest Arkansas EFNEP Team! NWA EFNEP received an NEAFCS-AR state award for their collaboration with libraries to deliver Cooking Arkansas EFNEP nutrition and cooking classes and cooking schools. Their award application application will advance to the NEAFCS Southern Region competition for consideration for a national award. Pictured (L to R): Claudia Thompson-EFNEP Educator, Miguel Lopez-EFNEP Educator, Jacqueline Silva-EFNEP Educator, Cathy Love-EFNEP County Agent.

Students at Oakdale Middle School learned about the importance of eating breakfast, practiced their recipe reading and measuring skills, and made Perfect Pumpkin Pancakes in their last Teen Cuisine class.

Claudia Thompson, EFNEP Nutrition Educator is enjoying teaching an energetic class at the Westwood Springdale Family Literacy Program! Here, they are preparing Apple Salad after a lesson about making fruits and veggies half your plate.
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What a fun time at Farm Friends at Pauline Whitaker Animal Science Center in Fayetteville! Jacqueline Silva and Miguel Lopez, EFNEP educators got to visit with lots of families about EFNEP and heathy eating.

Thank you to the Springdale Public Library for including us in their first annual health fair! We had a great time telling people about EFNEP, and showing them how to reduce added sugars in what they drink and eat.

Use this interactive food map from Northwest Arkansas Food Bank to easily find food near you! Just enter your address, neighborhood, or zip code to see what is available in your area.

Navigate Your Way to Assistance!

We're thrilled to announce the launch of our Vivery-powered Find Food Map, revolutionizing how people access food assistance in our community.

Whether you're looking for a nearby food pantry, meal program, or other support services, our map makes it simple to find exactly what you need, when you need it.

Explore now and discover a world of assistance at your fingertips!

www.nwafoodbank.org/find-food

Everyone gets to cook at Cooking Arkansas EFNEP classes! Claudia Thompson, EFNEP Educator had a fun first session at Siloam Springs Public Library last night. The class learned about knife skills and made Fried Rice with Chicken. It's not too late to join this class. The next session will be April 8th at 5:30 PM at the Siloam Springs Public Library, 205 E Jefferson St. Contact Claudia to register: 501-650-6584.

Thank you to Elmwood Middle School for inviting us to their health fair! We really enjoyed visiting with students about healthy eating, specifically limiting added sugars. Here, Miguel Lopez, EFNEP Nutrition Educator explains why too much sugar is not the best choice for our bodies.

Jacqueline Silva and Miguel Lopez taught the final Cooking Arkansas EFNEP class at Envision Nutrition. The lesson focused on the importance of whole grains, healthy protein options, and food safety strategies. As usual, the kids took over the recipe preparation and made Brussels Sprouts and Cranberry Salad for the adults.
To find a Cooking Arkansas EFNEP class near you, contact Jacqueline at 501-352-6428 or Miguel at 501-274-8683.

Thank you to our library partners in Northwest Arkansas for your support of Cooking Arkansas EFNEP! Jacqueline Silva, EFNEP Educator and Cathy Love, EFNEP County Agent were able to share about our collaborations with libraries at the National EFNEP Coordinators Conference in Washington, DC.

Kids were the chefs at Jacqueline Silva's Eating Smart Being Active class at Envision Nutrition Thursday night. After a class about vegetables and fruits, parents looked on as the kids made Minestrone Soup! Letting your kids help in the kitchen is a good way to encourage them to try new foods!
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Thank you to Springdale Family Literacy Program for letting us work with your awesome parents!

We had a great Eating Smart Being Active class at Envision Nutrition last night. Everyone got in on the action and practiced their knife skills while making Fried Rice with Chicken.
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THE BIG ANNOUNCEMENT IS FINALLY HERE!

This upcoming market season, the Double Your Dollars Program will start serving WIC customers at the farmers market! What does this mean? IF YOU ARE ON WIC, YOU CAN GET HALF PRICED FRUITS AND VEGGIES AT THE FARMERS MARKETS BELOW!

There's so much to know and learn about WIC, such as, "Am I eligible?" and "How do I apply?" Don't worry, we got you covered! To learn more about using WIC at the farmers market, click the link here or in our bio and scroll down to the section 'WIC FMNP'. Links to everything you need to know regarding WIC will be at your fingertips!
https://linktr.ee/nwafarmersmarketalliance

Farmers Market Downtown Bentonville, Ar Fayetteville, Arkansas Farmers' Market Rogers Local Food and Art Market Springdale Farmers' Market at the Jones Center The Goshen Farmers Market Gravette Farmers Market Siloam Springs Farmers Market UAMS Community Health and Research

Miguel Lopez, EFNEP Nutrition Educator taught his very first class at the Springdale Public Library this week. He started a series of Teen Cuisine lessons with a great group of teenagers! They talked about MyPlate, practiced knife skills and made Yogurt Orange Sauce with Sliced Apples.

If you are interested in classes for youth or adults, contact Miguel at 501-274-8683.

Try this Protein Hot Chocolate mix from Texas A & M University Dinner Tonight to warm up your family this holiday. This recipe is lower in sugar and higher in protein than regular hot chocolate mixes. Make a big batch and give it away for a DIY gift! https://dinnertonight.tamu.edu/recipe/protein-hot-chocolate/

Congratulations to Jacqueline Silva, EFNEP Nutrition Educator for 5 years of service with EFNEP and the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture Cooperative Extension Service! We are so glad Jackie is part of our team!