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Community Partnership with Valley Interfaith Child Care Center
Blacksburg, VA
August 2015 - December 2015
Valley Interfaith Child Care Center (VICCC) is a non-profit organization located in Blacksburg, VA that serves low-income, working parents and their children. As part of the project, I worked with 3 other dietetics students to come up with ideas to improve the nutritional quality of foods served at the center. We wanted to make small and feasible changes to the breakfast, lunch and snack menus. Every week, we met at VICCC with our community service partner and reviewed the USDA guidelines and Virginia Health Department regulations in order to ensure that changes we made were in compliance with guidelines and regulations. Some of these changes included adding more whole wheat products, offering fruit/cheese/cracker platters for snacks, and adding more fruits and vegetables to the menus. We also compared various food labels to find the healthiest food options available from food suppliers.
Additionally, we provided nutrition education to children ages 3-4 through an interactive demonstration making parfait with fruit and yogurt. At the end of our service learning project, we collaborated with another group who works with a low-income older population to propose a program that would benefit both of the populations we were serving. It was a very challenging project but we managed to utilize the knowledge and skills we gained from our community service partners to complete a successful final presentation.
Additionally, we provided nutrition education to children ages 3-4 through an interactive demonstration making parfait with fruit and yogurt. At the end of our service learning project, we collaborated with another group who works with a low-income older population to propose a program that would benefit both of the populations we were serving. It was a very challenging project but we managed to utilize the knowledge and skills we gained from our community service partners to complete a successful final presentation.
