Meet Calci the Cow

Calci the UC Cow is always in a happy mooo-d!

Why?

She doesn’t cry over spilled milk.
She turns the “udder” cheek and “mooo-ves” on.
She honors her fodder, her mother, and all her “udder” relatives.

Calci’s in her best “mooo-d” when she’s helping deliver nutrition education messages to Youth Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP) audiences. Last year, over 7,500 limited resource youth in Fresno County learned how to get and stay healthy by making good food choices, being physically active, respecting agriculture, choosing healthy snacks, and practicing safe food handling,… all according to their 5-18 year age-level.

Youth EFNEP instructors, Nelly Carrillo-Carlos and Martha Acosta, travel from Selma to Orange Cove, Coalinga to Kerman, Fresno to Firebaugh, and all stops in-between, to encourage youth towards healthier lifestyles. For kindergartners, healthy messages might be “hidden” in storybooks-- Kiss the Cow! (Calci’s favorite!), The Beastly Feast, Eating the Alphabet are but a few. For lower primary students, healthy messages might “hide” in a school garden, according to EFNEP’s Farm to Fork curriculum.

Mid-primary students find Nutrition to Grow On an exciting concept linking plant science to eating more fruits and vegetables. (There are worms and compost in between!) Upper primary students revel in Eat Fit, a computer- or workbook-based curriculum that excels in goal-setting for health, appearance, or athletic strength.

To find an EFNEP Youth Program in Fresno County, contact University of California Cooperative Extension at 559-600-7219.