North Dakota State University extension staff were recognized at the National Association for the Promotion of Family and Consumer Science in Grand Rapids, Michigan, almost November 2-5.

Julie Garden-Robinson, North Dakota State University Promotional Food and Nutrition Specialist and Professor of Health, Nutrition and Sports Science, won the Communication Written Media Award for her news column Prairie Fare, won the first place in the central region and second place in the country.

The NDSU extended family and community health professionals who won the Innovative Youth Development Program Award in the Jamestown area are: Garden-Robinson; Danielle Dinger, Dickie County Extension Agent; Lu Morehouse, Extended Food and Nutrition Program and Family Nutrition Program Assistant; Susan Milender, Barnes County Promotion Agent; and Christina Rittenbach, Stutsman County Promotion Agent.

They won awards for "Going towards a healthier cooking and baking school towards virtualisation", ranking second in the central region and third in the country.

Carrie Johnson, NDSU Extended Interim Assistant Director and Head of the Family and Community Health Program, said: “Eating nutritiously and knowing how to prepare food can improve the quality of life and save North Dakota millions of dollars in collective health care costs.” “These Outreach programs provide individuals and families with practical and applicable tools."

Garden-Robinson said that she is very proud of her team's innovation in providing hands-on nutrition, food safety and health content during after-school or summer courses.

She said: “The multi-semester cooking and baking school curriculum has been updated, and you can use social distancing to teach face-to-face, or you can use platforms such as Zoom to teach online.” “Each child received a kit with measuring equipment and kitchen tools. , Aprons and recipes.

"Usually, when children prepare healthy food in their kitchens through Zoom, parents are involved. Parents send emails explaining the improvement in skills and confidence they have observed because their children have learned that they can now and in the future. Valuable life skills applied."

Through the National 4-H Committee through the Wal-Mart Foundation and many North Dakota commodity groups, the North Dakota Farmers Union, the Department of Health, and the North Dakota Department of Public Education.

Garden-Robinson belongs to two multi-state teams that are recognized regionally or nationally. The North Central Extended Food Safety Network composed of 12 states won the first prize for food safety for its work on family food preservation education and promotion.

Garden-Robinson's collaboration with Florida State University and Virginia Tech won first place in the Southern region and first place in the national multi-state award category. The team coordinates national professional development seminars for national extension professionals to bring the latest research-based health information back to their states and communities.

Garden-Robinson also won the National Association for the Promotion of Family and Consumer Science for Sustained Excellence during the conference. The award recognizes outstanding professional development and leadership participation.

"Getting this recognition speaks volumes about the excellent employees, the work they do, and the programs NDSU Extension provides for North Dakota," Johnson said.