SU Ag Center to establish cooking camps, community and school gardens as part of $1.25 million CDC grant with LSU AgCenter

Posing for a photo before the Oct. 28 Childhood Obesity and Public Health Conference are, from left, principal investigator for the CDC grant and registered dietitian at the LSU AgCenter Denise Holston-West, Director of  'CHEF' camps and Associate Specialist for Nutrition at the SU Ag Center De'Shoin York, and  grant co-investigator and assistant professor at Pennington Biomedical Research Center Stephanie Broyles.

SU Ag Center Vice Chancellor for Extension, Dr. Gina Eubanks, provides  details of  the two-year, $1.25 million grant from the CDC during the Oct. 28 Childhood Obesity and Public Health Conference held at the Pennington Biomedical Research Center. (Photo by Frances Gould, LSU AgCenter.)

Baton Rouge, La. – Dr. Gina Eubanks, Vice Chancellor for Extension at the Southern University Agricultural Research and Extension Research Center, announced the establishment of “Creating Healthy Enjoyable Foods” (C.H.E.F.) cooking camps and community and school gardens as part of the Southern University Ag Center’s efforts in a collaborative two-year, $1.25 million grant from the U. S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The announcement was made during the 2015 Childhood Obesity and Public Health Conference held at the Pennington Biomedical Research Center on Oct. 28.

The C.H.E.F. cooking camps are designed to teach youth basic cooking principles and nutrition education based on the USDA’s, “MyPlate” food guidance system and the 2010 Dietary Guidelines.

The grant, which was awarded to the LSU AgCenter and partner institutions Southern University Ag Center, LSU’s Pennington Biomedical Research Center and the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals, will operate in Madison, St. Helena and Tensas Parishes.

The institutions hope the grant will reduce obesity and chronic diseases in the rural Louisiana parishes, which according to the CDC, all have a 40 percent or greater adult obesity rate.

For additional information on the Southern University Ag Center’s C.H.E.F. cooking camps or our community and school garden programs, call 225.771.2242.

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http://www.suagcenter.com/

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