Marquette County Extension
184 U.S. Highway 41
East Negaunee, MI 49866 /
P: 906-475-5731F: 906-475-4940
/ E-mail:Web: msue.msu.edu/MarquetteDirector: Linda Rossberg
MSU Extension helps residents move toward healthier lifestyles
Good nutrition and physical activity are two important ingredients to healthy lifestyles. Doing things like taking steps to eat more fruits and vegetables and getting exercise every day can help people of all ages feel better and avoid chronic conditions like diabetes.MSU Extension works to help residents of all ages learn to incorporate lessons for healthier living into their lives. In June, area human service agency representatives from Marquette, Schoolcraft, Delta, and Alger counties attended a training session to learn about “Jump into Foods and Fitness” (JIFF), an MSU Extension curriculum designed to help children learn the value of nutrition and exercise.
The training was funded by the Great Lakes Center for Youth Development. The 12 participants who attended received the curriculum and supplies to begin using it in their communities. Several agencies have begun using JIFF this summer.
JIFF is also being used with the Gang Resistance Education and Training (GREAT) program at the West Branch Community Center with youths in grades 4 through 8, and at the Child and Family Services summer day camp at Sandy Knoll with first through sixth graders. About seventy youth are involved in these programs each week through the summer. /
July 2008
Senior citizens aren’t being left out of nutrition education. The fourth season of Senior Project FRESH (the Farm Market Nutrition Education program) began in June.Through Senior Project FRESH, low-income senior citizens receive nutrition education and coupons that they can use to purchase fresh, locally grown produce at area farmers’ markets and farm stands. This year 136 seniors received one coupon book, and the USDA is sending an additional 100 books. A second round of coupon distributions will begin soon.
Last year’s redemption rate was above 90 percent and a similar rate is expected this year. Seniors repeatedly comment on how the $20 of coupons helps their grocery budget for the summer and the coupons greatly increases the revenue for the farmers who sell produce at the markets.
GREAT garden offers youths learning, fun, food and mentoring
Gardening is much more than a relaxing hobby. Gardeners of all ages learn about soil science, ecology and environmental protection, they spend time outside and they can grow their own food.
A group of Marquette County youngsters is learning the value and fun of gardening through the MSU Extension Junior Master Gardener program.
Continued
/ Michigan State University Extension helps people improve their lives through an educational process that applies knowledge to critical issues, needs and opportunities. Offices in counties across the state link the research of the land-grant university, MSU, to challenges facingcommunities. Citizens serving on county Extension councils regularly help select focus areas for programming. MSU Extension is funded jointly by county boards of commissioners,the state through Michigan State University and federally through the US Department of Agriculture.
GREAT garden—continued
The West Branch Community Center GREAT garden became an official Junior Master Gardener Program in June 11. The group is comprised of youth 9-14 years old who attend the GREAT program at the community center.
The GREAT Garden consists of 13 eight- by four-foot plots that were started at the beginning of June. The young gardeners meet each week to learn about one aspect of planting, growing, caring for and harvesting vegetables. More than 100 youngsters have taken part in the educational program and 50 have taken part at least three times during the garden’s first seven weeks.
With the help of Master Gardener Nanci Gasiewicz, the garden is flourishing with crops of tomatoes, basil, corn, onions and peas. The first planting proved difficult and many seeds did not germinate.
Thanks to a donation from Monica Larson, owner of Catnip Creek (Farm? Garden Center?) all of the vacant spots were filled in with transplants. The youths and Master Gardener volunteers maintain the garden by weeding, adding organic matter and watering.
The program includes 4-H activities and as well as classroom sessions taught by from local experts. Lynnea McFadden from the Marquette County Conservation District discussed about the water cycle and explained how surface and groundwater are important to plants and people. / Jim Isleib, the Alger County MSU Extension director also visited and shared his expertise on weeds and plant diseases, and Natasha Gill from Dancing Crane Farm took time out to share her knowledge about insects and explain to the youngsters the difference between good bugs and bad bugs.
During the GREAT Program the youth also receive nutrition education from MSU Extension Marquette County food and nutrition educator Lynn Krahn. Other lessons have focused on the importance of consuming more fruits, vegetables and dairy products and reducing consumption of foods containing high levels of sugar and fat.
Toward the end of the program the vegetables will be harvested and the young growers will enter them in competition at the Marquette County Fair. Some of the produce will be sold to help fund the 2009 garden and They’ll also have the chance to enjoy the fruit of their labor and eat the vegetables as snacks and some produce will be sold if possible for next year’s investment in the garden.
The GREAT Garden has been made possible with funding from the Michigan Department of Community Health, MSU Extension and the Marquette County Active Living Task Force.
Marquette County MSU Extension Staff
Linda Rossberg, County Extension Director
Nicole Dewald, 4-H Youth Staff
Lynn Krahn, Family Nutrition Educator
Jim Isleib, Agricultural Agent
Jackie Olinske, Office Manager
MSU is an affirmative-action, equal-opportunity employer. Michigan State University Extension programs and materials are open to all without regard to race, color, national origin, gender, gender identity, religion, age, height, weight, disability, political beliefs, sexual orientation, marital status, family status or veteran status. Issued in furtherance of MSU Extension work, acts of May 8 and June 30, 1914, in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Thomas G. Coon, Extension Director, Michigan State University, E. Lansing, MI 48824