Category Archives: Nutrition

National Volunteer Week 2016

It is time to celebrate the accomplishments of our Master Food Volunteers who provide program support for our Virginia Cooperative Extension nutrition, health, and wellness educational programs, and we want to share a heartfelt “Thank You!” Our volunteers offer a wealth of talent, innovation, creativity, commitment, and leadership.

And, many, many thanks to our wonderful Family and Consumer Sciences Extension Agents who work with and support our Master Food Volunteers.

Thank you for all you do!

Following are select pictures of our some of our volunteers in action.

Enjoy!

Nancy B from Northern Virginia demonstrates a nutritious and easy-to-prepare snack.

Nancy B from Northern Virginia demonstrates how to prepare tasty and nutritious foods.

Mike Perel (left) and Nancy Fitzsimmons (right) at the Fairfax Farmers Market in summer 2015

Mike P(left) and Nancy F (right) at the Fairfax Farmers Market in summer 2015.

June/July2015- Esther L., Master Food Volunteer and her granddaughter, Kayla B, FCS Occasional Volunteer help with Healthy Weights and Health Kids program for a Parks and Recreation youth summer camp.

Bowling Green State Univ. Dietetic Intern partners with Master Food Volunteer/Norfolk State University student and teach how to prepare the Family Nutrition Program recipe: Yogurt Fruit Parfait.

Following are some great pictures of MFVs helping to make the Portsmouth Bicentennial Community Program a success.

Portsmouth MFVs, Regina J and Esther L at Portsmouth Redevelopment and Housing Authority’s Community Day with the Mayor of Portsmouth, Kenny Wright

Portsmouth MFVs, Regina J and Esther L at the Portsmouth Redevelopment and Housing Authority’s Community Day with the Mayor of Portsmouth, Kenny Wright.

Master Food Volunteers assist with Choose My Plate for Seniors presentation at the Parks and Recreation Senior Station.

MFV, Darleen P- prepares Corn and Bean Salsa recipe for February 2016 , Heart Health Month, and Crystal Barber, MNS, RD- FCS Extension Agent, educates on the USDA Choose My Plate after an energizing “stand up abdominal exercise session” by Veronica E, YMCA- Chesapeake.

We salute our Master Food Volunteers and look forward to more to come in 2016!

Prince William Master Food Volunteer Recognition

I recently had the opportunity to visit with Master Food Volunteers from the Prince William County Extension Office. Ms. Nancy Stegon, the supervising Family and Consumer Sciences Extension Agent, coordinated the event, and we had a great time celebrating the accomplishments of these wonderful volunteers.

Among the many programs they are already involved, many of these volunteers have been busy with Chef Club programs in the local schools, and they will be busy this summer with programs at local farmers markets.

Many thanks to our great agents and volunteers!

Melissa Chase, State Coordinator

Roanoke Valley has upcoming Master Food Volunteer Training planned

Posted on March 3, 2014 by mechase

Update–this training has been cancelled and will hopefully be rescheduled soon. Please stay tuned for more details.

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Beginning Saturday, April 5, 2014, a Master Food Volunteer Training is scheduled for adults interested in becoming volunteers with this program in the Roanoke Valley.

See the attached brochure below for information about the program, application deadline, additional dates of training, etc.

Roanoke MFV 2014 flyer

This training is being offered through the Roanoke County Extension Office.

For more information about the program and requirements to apply, please contact Ms. Deb Chappell, Family and Consumer Sciences Extension Agent, phone: 540-772-7524, email: dchappel@vt.edu.

Website: Virginia Cooperative Extension Roanoke Valley Master Food Volunteers

VCE Family Nutrition Program Facebook page has great nutrition tips

Posted on August 19, 2013 by mechase

Check out our Virginia Cooperative Extension Family Nutrition Program’s Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/VaFNP

This site contains great tips and information on eating healthy, tasty recipes, and cooking tips that can be used for Master Food Volunteer programs and any family and consumer sciences program related to nutrition and healthy living. Check the site often–the site is updated regularly.

https://www.facebook.com/VaFNP

Master Food Volunteers Present Salad and Spice Workshops to Fairfax County Employees

Posted on May 2, 2013 by mechase

Extension Agent Katie Strong answers questions after audience samples a Smoky Black Bean and Corn Salad prepared during Fairfax County Administrative Resource Team Conference workshop.

Fairfax County administrative professionals picked up new spices and hearty salad ingredients as they shopped for groceries this weekend, inspired by Virginia Cooperative Extension Master Food Volunteers.

Held during the last week of April in conjunction with National Administrative Professionals Day, the annual Administrative Resource Team (ART) Conference brings personnel from throughout Fairfax County together for a day of workshops. This year’s conference, held on April 26 at the Government Center, featured two workshops by VCE.

“Healthy Cooking for Busy Families: Hearty and Versatile Salads,” featured a cooking demonstration. VCE Extension Agent Katie Strong prepared Smoky Black Bean and Corn Salad while Master Food Volunteers Sue Lagon, Mike Perel, Julia Schneider and Sue Gonzalez dished up and served samples to nearly 80 participants. Strong recommended that families prepare healthful, filling salads on Sunday evening for lunches and snacks throughout the week.

The highlight of the “Herbs and Spices Master Class” was a spice tasting contest. Using unsalted pretzels dipped in olive oil, more than 70 attendees sampled and tried to guess the names of six spices. Strong then delivered a fast-paced tour of the world of herbs and spices. The goal of the program was to encourage participants to try alternatives to sodium, which is far too prevalent in the typical American diet.

In addition to getting a well-deserved break from their workday routines, conference participants picked up a wealth of healthy cooking ideas to share with their families and friends this weekend.

Written by Sue Gonzalez, Master Food Volunteer

Fairfax administrators participate in spice tasting contest during workshop aimed at reducing sodium intake by increasing awareness of healthier seasoning alternatives.

Master Food Volunteers Sue Lagon and Mike Perel discuss the outcome of the spice tasting contest. To their surprise, none of the participants were able to identify all six of the spices – basil, cumin, dill, oregano, sage and thyme.

Welcome to Master Food Volunteer Insights

Posted on December 4, 2012 by mechase

Welcome to our Virginia Cooperative Extension Food Volunteer Insights blog. The purpose of this blog is to share research-based and unbiased ideas, resources, and information for Extension faculty and Master Food Volunteers. If you are a VCE faculty member or Master Food Volunteer and would like to contribute entries to this blog, contact Melissa Chase by email, mechase@vt.edu, to submit your blog request. Once approved, Melissa will post to the Insights blog page for public viewing. We look forward to learning more from each other and sharing new ideas and resources to enhance our program efforts.

Please note we also have a link for Agents to add information about upcoming trainings. Agents should send this information to Melissa Chase so that it can be added to the blog.

For Master Food Volunteer continuing education opportunities, visit the University of Maine’s Extension web site. They now have YouTube training videos with many of their publications. These videos range from 5 minutes to 10 minutes each and can provide great discussion at MFV meetings and trainings: http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL8D1C914E1E1FEA69&feature=plcp