UNT professor creates new curriculum for WIC parents

With a $131,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Lisa Kennon, UNT associate professor of hospitality management, and professors in the Texas Woman's University Department of Nutrition and Food Sciences are educating millions of low-income parents involved in the federal Women, Infants and Children program.

The WIC program, which serves more than 7 million people each month, provides food, nutrition counseling and referrals to health and social organizations to low-income pregnant women and new mothers as well as infants and children up to age 5. Using vouchers, participants can purchase items such as iron-fortified infant formula and infant cereal.

Pregnant women and young children are considered a high-risk group for food-borne illnesses, Kennon says. She and her colleagues surveyed WIC directors and conducted focus groups with WIC clients in Denton, Dallas and Tarrant counties. Results showed a lack of knowledge about safe methods for cooling foods, thawing foods and judging when food is unsafe to eat.

Based on the data collected, Kennon and her colleagues developed a series of bilingual materials — 22-minute videos in English and Spanish along with a resource packet of information for WIC counselors. Other materials include games and activities for clients in both English and Spanish aimed at improving food safety. The materials cover everything from cleaning and cooling food to preparing formula and storing breast milk safely.

The material is being distributed to WIC directors across the country to be disseminated to the more than 11,000 branches of the program.

BY RUFUS COLEMAN rcoleman@unt.edu

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• Awards presented at Staff Sack Lunch
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• UNT implementing new Enterprise Information System

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