Dietetics Students Promote Healthy Eating in Community

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Dietetics students Morgan Drain (left) and Melanie Zimmerman prepare to offer families produce tips and advice during the Cooking Matters at the Store event on April 8.

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Dietetics students from the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences at the University of Arkansas recently participated in a community event to assist the public in learning healthy eating habits.

Students in dietetics in the School of Human Environmental Sciences took part in the Cooking Matters at the Store program to provide tours of a local grocery store to families and to teach them how to shop for and prepare food as part of the No Kid Hungry campaign. The program also focuses on connecting kids at risk of hunger in America with the healthy foods they need each day.

The Arkansas Hunger Relief Alliance provides support at the state level for the Cooking Matters program while local organizations work with and serve members of their communities.

"Our students seek to impact our community through diverse projects focused on nutrition education such as Cooking Matters," said Mechelle Bailey, dietetics instructor. "Projects such as this help us develop and empower students as they become the next generation of our nation’s food and nutrition leaders who seek to strengthen the nation's health through sound food and nutrition information."

Cooking Matters is a research-based program providing practical information such as economical ways to buy fruits and vegetables, calculating unit prices, reading nutrition labels and ingredient lists, and identifying whole grains.

U of A students were stationed at a local Harps in April to spend time with area families. The students, who are members of the Student Dietetic Association, included Meredith Sokora, Rachel DiMassimo, Deborah Lee, Katy Branham, Sarah Dawson, Margaret Cobb, Julia Kucherich, Kayla Kelley, Caroline LaFrance, Casey Evans, Rebekah Mire, Joy Works, Haley Webb, Morgan Trott, Mallori Sando, Amber Garvin, Taylor Thomas, Alex Day, Morgan Drain, Kyeira Oyara and Melanie Zimmerman.