Contact: Carmen Ramos Chandler,
carmen.chandler@csun.edu,
(818) 677-2130

CSUN Joins with State to Provide
Health Education to High-Risk Families

The Project Community Nutrition Resource is a 12-month program involving students and faculty within the university's College of Health and Human Development.

"We don't want to incorporate something that they are not going to do," said Karen David, a CSUN graduate student and public relations coordinator for the program. "A lot of the families and people we are working with are Hispanic, so we're talking about things like soccer as a form of exercise, and trying to include such things as chamoyas and nopales when we talk about family diets. We want to be effective so we are not going to include behaviors that are not aligned with their culture."

David, a dietetic intern, said if the program is successful, state health officials have indicated they want to use it as a model for similar programs across California.

Seven multidisciplinary teams of students and faculty will work with residents throughout the San Fernando Valley to develop programs that meet their individual needs.

Three teams are working with Head Start programs directed by the Child Care Resource Center, one team at the Van Nuys Pierce Park apartment complex, two teams at Pacoima and San Fernando middle schools, and one team will work with pregnant women at Olive View Medical Center.

The CSUN team working at the Woodman Center Head Start Program will present six education programs that are open to the public. Topics include the food guide pyramid, personal hygiene, healthy snacks, well-balanced meals, food safety, weight management, activities for a healthy lifestyle, and sleep, hydration and stress management.

The sessions are scheduled from 10:30 to 11: 30 a.m. March 31 and April 7 and from 11 a.m. to noon on April 14, April 28, May 5 and May 12.

The Woodman Center is located at 5944 Woodman Ave, at the corner of Woodman and Oxnard Street.

For more information, call (818) 989-2379.

California State University, Northridge has more than 27,000 full- and part-time students and offers 48 bachelor's and 39 master's degrees. Founded in 1958, it is the only four-year university in the San Fernando Valley.