Senior Program Development Specialist With The Oklahoma Healthy Aging Initiative

In the United States many citizens face hunger, starvation and malnutrition on a daily basis. This food insecurity affects millions of Americans. Food insecurity is caused when Americans don’t have enough money to purchase food for themselves and their family. When children experience hunger if affects them both physically and psychologically. “Children who are denied an adequate diet are at a greater risk of not reaching their full potential as individuals. Undernourished youngsters have trouble concentrating and bonding with other children and are more likely to suffer illnesses resulting in school absences.” (Karger, p 371) It is important for children to meet their full potential in order for society to continue thriving into the future. If children are not receiving an adequate education because they have an empty stomach, then they will not continue to higher education or they will do poorly. In order to combat hunger in children the federal government responded with several major programs. Two of the programs the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) and the School Breakfast Program (SBP) are targeted towards school age children. These programs provide students with breakfast and lunch while they are at school.

The Hunger-free kids act is a nutrition program that provides all children with healthy food in school and to low income families. Because of this act schools are playing a larger role in children’s health. Included in this legislation other programs that focus on hunger has come into play such as: Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Woman, Infants and Children (WIC), Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP), Summer Food Service Program, After School Meal Program and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Education (SNAP-Ed). The programs under the Hunger-free kids act do not have a specific expiration date however,

For my priority policy issue I have identified National Alliance for Nutrition & Activity coalition (NANA). Within the legislative and executive branches of government NANA endorses a better understanding about the importance of healthy eating, physical activity and obesity control to the nation's health and health-care costs. The efforts of NANA includes, supporting effective education and promotion programs, advocating adequate funding for programs, and promoting policy and environmental changes that help Americans eat better and be more physically active. After a decade of national, state, and local advocacy to improve the nutritional quality of school food, NANA coalition made a successful effort to pass the heathy, hunger free kids act.

In particular, North Carolina in 2011 formed a “No Kid Hungry” collaborating with state and the national leaders. This nonprofit organization collectively connect kids in need with nutritious food and educates their families on healthy cooking and affordable meals. The campaign also actively engages the public to end child hunger in our nation (North Carolina| No Kid Hungry, n.d). In 2014, “No Kid Hungry” NC initiated at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill 's (UNC) Center for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention. UNC program connected with government officials, business leaders, private citizens, and others who are willing to end child hunger. Its focus is to underutilize nutrition in school system such as breakfast, summer and after-school meals (North Carolina | No Kid Hungry, n.d).

As a future social worker, I would like to implement program development to make life better for aging Americans. The On Lok group of non-profit organizations, founded by dentist Dr. William Gee and social worker Marie-Louise Ansak, demonstrates it is possible to support and provide affordable services to elderly. Some of the services provided by On Lok are as follows; a comprehensive health plan for long-term care, senior center, housing for seniors, and health care for at home seniors (On Lok, 2015). On Lok receives funding and support from Medicaid and Medicare for these senior services.

I am sending you my application for the IT Assistant position at your health center in Patten. After reviewing your requirements, I am sure that my experience and knowledge meets your criteria. Computers have been a passion of mine since I can remember and I would appreciate your consideration.

Our school does not include a nutritional education program. If we implement this class, we need to make it a required class for all classmen. “Nutrition education programs are found primarily in schools within the lowest and highest rates of childhood obesity,” (Education Sets the Table for Healthy Eating in School). This shows that most schools do not include nutritional classes in their curriculum. Those in need are missing out. We can be a guidance for them at an early age to help them in the future. “Percentage of students who were overweight rose from 18 percent to 31 percent,” (Good Nutrition Deserves the Old College Try). As you can see, students in college became overweight quickly. If we can include an education at our school that teaches them to eat healthily we can lower that number. The importance of this is that with an education it can help you in the future. Including a nutritional education program at our school can help kids make healthy food choices that would stick with them

My interdisciplinary studies, passion for healthcare reform, strong research and data analysis background, optimistic personality, experiences in professional settings, as well as my ability to communicate, learn, and work with individuals from varying backgrounds, make me a strong candidate for Athenahealth. I look forward to speaking with you and I can be reached via phone 860-759-8941 or email aasonye@wesleyan.edu. Thank you in advance for your time and

The most effective way to resolve the problem surrounding health disparities and nutrition is through education. This is the only option that would be cost effective and yield results. We would not be able to receive enough funding to build a grocery store, or enough to provide each family with personal food deliveries. Sessions will be split up between the parents and the children. This is done for two reasons. The first, has to do with the scheduling of the sessions and the availability of the participants. Parents will not be available when their children are. Similarly, the children will not always be available at the same time as the adults. The children will be educated during assemblies or special presentations during the school day. These presentations will be led by volunteers or employees.

Despites public health interventions, the rate of obesity increases dramatically in the nation. In New Jersey, approximately 24.7% of children aged 10 to 17 are obese or overweight1. Although a multitude of school-based nutrition program exists in New Jersey, the rate of obesity remains high. School-based programs tempt to omit several factors influencing children’ dietary behavior. Nutrition interventions in communities are critical to produce a change. Therefore The Rak Foundation for Nutritional Awareness (RFNA) intends to act by applying distinct strategies.

Before designing a health intervention curriculum, it was necessary to determine the level of nutrition understanding of the students had. A class of 19 seventh and eighth graders were evaluated to determine relevant nutritional needs and develop a baseline for the program. The students were mostly Caucasian. The students ranged in ages from 10-13 years old, and both gender were represented.

Federally-funded school meal programs, including the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) and the School Breakfast Program (SBP), serve an average of 31.3 million lunches and 11.1 million breakfasts per day at a cost to the country of $11.1 billion in 2011 (Food & Nutrition Services, 2012). These federally-funded meals are an excellent opportunity for regulation of nutrition as well as education regarding healthy choices. Obesity is clearly a great threat to the health of our nation, and the federal government must step in to defend its citizens against this growing threat. Children are at the mercy of their families, their social conditions, and their schools, predisposing them to obesity through poor nutritional options and a lack of education; the federal government must intervene through regulation of school meals and snacks to protect children from the abundance of unhealthy options while also educating them and reducing childhood obesity.

Children today are in much greater danger of health issues related to poor nutrition and diet than seen in previous generations. As children continue to face the dangers of issues like obesity, more and more programs are aiming to address the issue with effectiveness. It is clear that something needs to be done in regards to helping improve the nutritional intake of school in the state and across the country. Changes to breakfast and lunch menus within districts are directed at improving health and nutritional intake of school children across the state.

Food access has historically been an issue for needy and/or problem children, and those issues have evolved over time. What was once defined by hunger and starvation, food insecurity is now defined by obesity, diabetes, and heart disease. However, the core issue remains the same—that poor children suffer from malnutrition due to lack of proper nutritional support systems. Public food support services can help these children, but food security is still an issue for these children. According to The Impact of the National School Lunch Program on Child Health, “Children in households reporting the receipt of free or reduced-price school meals through the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) are more likely to have negative health outcomes than observationally similar nonparticipants” (Gundersen, Kreider, & Pepper 2012, p. 79). While federal food assistance programs like the National School Lunch Program add caloric supplementation to a child’s dietary needs, it’s clear that these programs still leave many dietary needs unaddressed. Gundersen et. al. also found free lunch recipients are worse off than eligible nonparticipants in terms of health outcomes (see Appendix A for detailed analysis and statistics). Despite efforts to relieve food insecurity in low-income households, those public food assistance programs may not effectively eradicate food insecurity and might also exasperate problematic health outcomes for the children involved in these food programs. Thus, food

The psychology of hunger effects the physical and mental health of students, especially low socio-economic students who have an increased school dropout rate, behavioral and socio-emotional problems, and developmental delays. The Theory of change, or TOC, allows the program to take these mini-steps in an effort reach long-term goal of sustainability and connect the program with community and business support. Thus, giving the program flexibility to evaluate and assess the process, make adjustments, and strengthen the bases support.