A very small team has a big impact in Rockland County

Food and Nutrition, August, 1993 by Cynthia Tackett

The workshops also include cooking demonstrations and provide information on preparing low-cost but healthy meals and using consumer strategies, like unit-pricing, when shopping to save money in the supermarket. As incentives to participate, people attending the workshops often get gift certificates donated by local restaurants and supermarkets, thanks to the persistent efforts of PAN staff.

Materials written in several languages

Relying on a well-established network and working through existing program sites, PAN staff members disseminate written materials to every section of the community they serve. Many of these materials, which the nutrition educators develop themselves, go out in a number of languages, including Spanish, Haitian, Yiddish, and, of course, English.

"We gear the materials to the group we are working with," says Sielecki, "whether they are handouts on infant feeding for teens who have just given birth or ethnic recipes and shopping tips for Hispanic food stamp clients."

They distribute publications by mail as well as in person. "Food Flashes, for example, is a publication that is mailed by-monthly to food stamp recipients. "Food for Thought" is a bilingual newsletter.

They also give out a directory of county nutrition programs published by Rockland County. It includes information on food cupboards, meal centers serving elderly people, and information on food stamps, WIC, and school lunch and school breakfast programs.

In a special effort that usually takes place every May, the term visits communities with a "classroom on wheels" known as the PAN VAN.

"We go to the various poverty pockets in the county and set up tables with materials, displays, food, and recipes," explains Appel. The recipes include ones PAN staff have developed for specific cultural groups.

The PAN VAN provides opportunities for audiovisual presentations as well as one-on-one education. "It's a big deal in the communities," says Appel, "and the people look forward to it.

"We also try to link it with other activities. For example, last year local agencies were giving out commodity foods on the same day we were in one community. It worked out very well because we were able to hand out materials and talk about how we could help."

And they do even more

The PAN staff is always striving for new ways to reach people. For example, to help those who have difficulty shopping for themselves, they started PAN PALS. PAN PALS are volunteers who shop for and deliver groceries to elderly and homebound food stamp recipients.

In another special activity, the nutrition educators set up booths at selected Grand Union grocery stores, where they provide nutrition information as well as shopping tips. During the last week of each month, the PAN project coordinator and the Rockland county nutritionist spend one morning at each of the Grand Union Chain stores in Rockland County.

According to a New York State annual report, this activity has been well received by supermarket shoppers. A high percentage of shoppers return to the booth each month to ask questions and get nutrition information.