The holiday season is upon us, which for many means holiday parties, overcrowded schedules, and extra indulgent meals and treats.
Farrah Wigand, a Registered Dietitian with DHEC and a Certified Specialist in Obesity Weight Management, has provided a few healthy eating and lifestyle gifts to help you lighten up your holidays.
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Summer is in full swing. Now is the time to take advantage of our state’s fresh produce by using the S.C. Farmers and Roadside Market App. The web-based app shows the location, hours of operation and accepted payment types for hundreds of statewide farmers markets and roadside produce stands.
Payment types may include: cash, credit cards, WIC, SNAP, and senior vouchers.
Approximately 356 markets and stands are on the app statewide. In addition to giving locations and hours of markets and stands, the app also provides healthy recipes featuring in-season produce each month.
“The app makes it easy to find local, affordable options for fresh produce, which can empower families to make healthier food choices,” said Nick Davidson, DHEC interim director of Public Health.
Seasonal programs are also making local produce more affordable in various parts of the state. DHEC’s WIC Farmers Market Nutrition Program provides WIC participants with checks that can be used to buy approved fresh produce at authorized farmers markets and roadside stands.
To use the S.C. Farmers and Roadside Market App, visit www.scdhec.gov/farmersmarkets. For more information about WIC Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program, visit www.scdhec.gov/Health/WIC/FarmersMarkets/.
Plant the right seed and good things will grow. That’s the goal of SC Plants the Seed, multi-component, library based intervention program that was developed to improve nutrition access and literacy, among low-income families.
Program driven by partnership
SC Plants the Seed is a partnership between DHEC (SNAP-Ed), the SC State Library, and the SC Department of Social Services. The program currently integrates activities within four components: nutrition education, increasing access of fresh produce, USDA Summer Food Service Program, and literacy.
A summer of nutrition and reading
Once a month at the Bishopville and Pelion libraries and weekly at the Orangeburg Library, local farmers were invited to set up a farm-stand to give patrons the opportunity to purchase local farm fresh produce. One of the goals was promoting the Healthy Bucks Program, the SCDSS farmers market incentive. The program also set out to make it more accessible for SNAP, WIC, and Seniors Farmers Market Nutrition Program (SFMNP) participants to redeem their vouchers. Persons on SNAP could spend $5 in EBT and receive an additional $10, which only can be used with a local authorized farmer.
Not only did patrons have the opportunity to purchase produce but the SNAP-Ed program conducted food demonstrations and provided recipe samples prepared with the farmer’s local produce. They were also able to learn and ask about how to select, prepare, and store produce and find out what is in season.
At each event, every child received a free book, by a grant provided by the State Library, and there were arts and crafts activities. The Lee County Library in Bishopville served free meals at each event for children under 18 years of age through the USDA Summer Food Service program.
The farms and libraries that participated
The local farms that participated in the program were Martin Farms of North, SC; Rogers Vegetable Farm of Sumter, SC; and Beason Farms of Pelion, SC. The host libraries for the summer of 2017 were Lee County Library in Bishopville, Orangeburg County Public Library-Main branch, and the Lexington County Library-Pelion Branch. The program was implemented in conjunction with each library’s summer reading programs.
SC Plants the Seed will return in the summer of 2018!
By Cassandra Harris
As part of her work at the Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC), Shorus Manning travels to elementary schools across South Carolina to help students develop skills for making healthier food and lifestyle choices. Noting her professionalism and caring attitude, Parent Teacher Liaison Freddie Harrell recently took the time to share glowing remarks on Manning’s continued efforts to provide nutrition services to the students and teachers at JP Thomas Elementary.
“She is doing an excellent job here at our school,” said Harrell. “The teachers, as well as the students, love her and they look forward to working with her each year.”
During her most recent visit, Harrell explained, “The moment she walked up to the classroom there was an uproar because she remembered the students, and they remembered her, from kindergarten.”
Manning is a registered and licensed dietitian for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)-Education program with the Office of Professional and Community Nutrition Services here at DHEC. Working with stakeholders across the state, she provides nutritional education to individuals in a variety of settings, including elementary schools, head starts, senior centers, churches, and parks and recreation sites, among many others. Continue reading
Live Healthy S.C. 