Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Public Health Education topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Penn State Extension outlines nutrition, fitness and senior programs for Clinton County
Summary
Penn State Cooperative Extension presenters described programs including Everybody Walk Across PA, Dining with Diabetes, LIFT (virtual), cooking classes, bone-health series and a USDA-funded Nutrition Links program during public comment at the Sept. 18 commissioners meeting.
Representatives from Penn State Cooperative Extension addressed the Clinton County Board of Commissioners during the public comment portion of the Sept. 18 meeting to summarize local outreach programs, partnerships and free or low-cost educational series.
Ethan Howard and Laurie Welch introduced the extension's local offerings. Welch, who said she covers Lycoming and Clinton counties as a food, family and community educator, described recurring programs including Everybody Walk Across PA (a statewide virtual walking program), Dining with Diabetes, LIFT (Lifelong Improvements through Fitness Together) available virtually in the county, and a suite of "Let's Cook" classes (DASH, Mediterranean and other recipes) offered in person and online.
Welch said the extension runs periodic in-person sessions at Ross Library and other community locations and partners with the Alzheimer's Association to offer a four-part series (10 warning signs; understanding Alzheimer's and dementia; dementia conversations; healthy living for brain and body); she brought small stress-relief items for the commissioners. She said nutritional and financial-education classes have been offered to county employees and community groups, and that extension staff have partnered with probation on garden harvest and cooking demonstrations.
Welch also described Nutrition Links, a federally funded program from the U.S. Department of Agriculture that offers nutrition education and budgeting help for low-income families with children; she said Sarah Grimes was hired in spring to work with at-risk audiences. Welch noted that some in-person classes charge fees to cover instructor costs but that scholarships are available: "a 6 week oh, an 8 week series with a scholarship would be $15 and that's twice a week for 8 weeks," she said, describing an affordable option for county residents.
Commissioners thanked the extension representatives and discussed distributing information on fitness/bone-health programs to local ambulance and fire services to reduce repeated emergency lift assists among older residents. The transcript records a commissioner asking the extension to provide contact information for local emergency services and noting the value of community-based classes for people who do not attend commercial gyms.
No county action was taken on the presentation; the remarks were delivered during the public comment period.
