Fuel for the Future: Three Ways the Poe Center Celebrates National Nutrition Month All Year

Nutrition plays a major role in our lives every day. This month, during the 50th anniversary of National Nutrition Month, the Poe Center is paying special attention to how nutrition is Fuel for the Future. National Nutrition Month® started in 1973 as National Nutrition Week, and it became a month-long observance in 1980 in response to growing interest in nutrition. During this March, the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics is highlighting strategies to help everyone Fuel for the Future.

The Poe Center is celebrating by highlighting three ways we help families Fuel For The Future: (1) eating with the environment in mind, (2) seeing a Dietitian, and (3) staying nourished while saving money. Our staff of expert health educators use these strategies to advance our mission to educate and empower North Carolina youth, children, and their families to live healthier lifestyles.

Eating with the Environment in Mind

One of the best ways to eat with the environment in mind is to start your own garden. Starting and maintaining a garden is a great family activity that can be both an educational and rewarding experience for everyone. If you’re short on space or would rather volunteer, give the Poe Center’s GrowWELL teaching garden a visit. Here at Poe, our program participants spend time being active outside, learn the science behind growing their own food, and even learn how to prepare new recipes in our CookWELL teaching kitchen when the produce is ready for harvest. We also practice sustainability by composting, and we even have our own beehive courtesy of Bee Downtown, who helps us maintain the hive and make our own honey.

Learn more about growing and cooking your own vegetables by following the Poe Center’s Garden-to-Kitchen monthly blog.

See a Registered Dietitian/Registered Dietitian Nutritionist

A registered dietitian or registered dietitian nutritionist (RD or RDN) is a nutrition expert who provides sound, easy to follow, evidence-based nutrition advice. RDs and RDNs go through specialized education and training, pass a national examination, and are required to seek continuing education credits and certifications to ensure that they are qualified and up to date with the most current nutrition research and trends. RDs and RDNs can be found in hospitals, schools, health departments, and nonprofits. At Poe, RDs and RDNs serve a wide variety of roles that benefit the community. RDs and RDNs at Poe are website developers, health educators, and even in senior management, ensuring the mission and vision of Poe are actualized. Poe’s program participants and followers benefit from our RDs and RDNs through cooking classes we teach, informative blogs, #PoeFitNutrition tweets, and much more.

Visit our staff directory to meet the RDs and RDNs of Poe.

Staying Nourished and Saving Money

The third way to Fuel for the Future focuses on meal planning and prepping at home and learning about local community resources, such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Women Infants and Children (WIC), and the North Carolina State Nutrition Action Coalition. Cooking and eating together at home are great ways to bond and eat nutritiously balanced meals. Trying to spice up your chef skills? Through the CookWELL Kitchen in-person or virtually, you can become your own master chef, learning knife skills and other essential kitchen techniques as you prepare various nutritious well-balanced recipes. Funding from SNAP-Ed makes these programs possible to eligible groups, and you can check out our Resource Directory to learn about all the other community resources to which Poe is connected.

Fueling for the Future means using strategies like these today. Adopting even one of these strategies: eating with the environment in mind, seeing a dietitian, and staying nourished while saving money, can foster positive habits and put you on a great path to leading a healthier life. Give the Poe Center for Health Education a visit, in person or online. Also check out eatright.org for more strategies on Fueling for the Future.

Featured Poe Programs:

The Poe Center offers nutrition, gardening, and cooking programs for kids and adults. Visit our program directory to begin planning a program for your school or organization.

Featured Resource: #PoeFIT

Follow #PoeFIT on the web, Twitter, and YouTube for daily tips and insights into nutrition, physical activity, and gardening.