This post courtesy of Paula Butler, Regional Program Leader – East & All-Around Nifty Person

With the anticipation of spring and warmer weather also comes the excitement of local Farmer’s Markets.  To prepare Master Wellness Volunteers to provide food and recipe demonstrations in this setting, AgriLife Extension held a Cooking with Confidence training at the Dallas Research and Extension Center earlier this month.

Fourteen volunteers were provided food safety education by Rebecca Dittmar, Extension Food Safety Specialist, and Courtney Davis, Denton County Extension Agent,which included special considerations for outdoor venues, what to do and what not to do. In addition Jennifer Reeves, Llano County Extension Agent, led an overview of Cooking with Confidence, a program she developed and has delivered at several locations across the state. Brittany Martin, Dallas County Extension Agent, provided specifics on lesson plans, talking points and recipes applicable for Farmer’s Market delivery which was followed with volunteer hands on practice and small group food demonstrations.

As a result of the training, the Master Wellness Volunteers are well prepared for the variety of upcoming opportunities in Dallas, Denton, and Collin Counties during the spring, summer, and fall Farmer’s Market season.

Where does time go? With all the great work done at all levels of the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service, but especially by the Master Wellness Volunteers, 2016 flew by and lives were changed in the process.

In 2016, 139 Master Wellness Volunteers in 20 counties provided 1,440 events reaching more than 36,000 Texans through 5,962 hours of service.

How about a round of applause!!!

And now the work continues. 2017 is shaping up to be the best year ever for the Master Wellness Volunteer Program: new counties, new partners, new trainings and new educational opportunities.

It’s a great time to be a Master Wellness Volunteer. And a great time to recruit a friend or some friends to join you in helping Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service achieve its vision: “Help Texans Better Their Lives.”

Superior (noun): high or higher in quality. Service (noun): contribution to the welfare of others.

One of the highest honors Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service gives its employees is the Superior Service Award. The program was established to recognize Extension faculty and staff who provide outstanding performance in Extension education.

Among the recipients of Superior Service Awards this year was Carrie Brazeal, County Extension Agent – Family and Consumer Sciences in Collin County, for her work with Master Wellness Volunteers. Read more about Carrie’s award here and if you’re ever in McKinney, swing by and tell her congrats for this well-deserved honor.

Amy started teaching Back to the Basics at Frisco Family Services in early 2014. Frisco Family Services has had Master Wellness Volunteers to teach BLT curricula since 2007, so they are a big supporter of BLT. Amy became a MWV in 2013, with the goal of teaching nutrition education. She has a background in dietetics so this was a natural fit for her. She really wanted to reach the BLT targeted audience so when this opportunity became available, she readily accepted.

Amy enjoys interacting with her audience. She is a natural teacher who engages her audience with activities as well as with discussion. All of the evaluations mention how much participants enjoy the class and look forward to her next class.

As a Master Wellness Volunteer (MWV), I worked with the staff at Presbyterian Children’s Home and Services. I created and lead a Single Parent Nutrition Program for the moms living on campus with their children. We meet twice monthly for a healthy meal and discussion using the “Choose MyPlate—10 Tips to a Great Plate” curriculum. Generally we plan the meal around “Dinner Tonight Cooking School” and the ladies participate in the food preparation.

I also planned and led two programs at the Waxahachie Downtown Farmers Market where the MWV provided healthy eating information and a “Meal in a Jar” demonstration. In August, we offered healthy snacks ideas and back to school food safety. I participated in a program for students in the Ennis School District “Give a Kid a Chance”, handing out nutrition information to adults and children. The Ennis School District has a BLT audience of 80%.

As a long time Texas Master Gardener, I became interested in moving beyond growing food and herbs to offering healthy meals and information. This has been a very rewarding extension of my interests in working with local farmers, growers and low income families. My goals are to promote healthy eating and create community gardens on the campus of Presbyterian Children’s Homes and Services and hopefully on the grounds of the local food pantry, Waxahachie CARE.