Nutirition, Family and Consumer Sciences (NFCS)

NFCS Program at UC Cooperative Extension in Riverside County connects the people of Riverside County with research and resources from the University of California.

NFCS Program is working to address two UC ANR Strategic Vision 2025 Initiatives:

1) Healthy Families and Communities

Promoting healthy behaviors for childhood obesity prevention
Helping consumers make informed decision regarding food choices, nutrition and health
Improving consumers' food management skills

2) Ensure Safe and Secure Food Supplies

Educating community organizations and consumers on safe food handling practices

What's New?

USDA now has a new Web Site www.chooseMyPlate.gov to communicate key messages from the Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2010. MyPlate reminds consumers what their plate should look like when they sit down to have a meal. The key messages are:

Make half your plate fruits and vegetables
Make at least half your grains whole grains
Switch to fat-free or low-fat (1%) milk

Enjoy your food, but eat less. Balance your calories with physical activity.

UC Delivers

California is one of the states with the highest prevalence of obesity among preschool-aged children from low-income families. The Center for Disease Control examined the 2009 data from Pediatric Nutrition Surveillance System and found that more than 15 percent of low-income 2- to 4-year-old children in California are overweight or obese (defined as being at or above the 95th percentile on the growth chart). In Riverside County, 13.8 percent of children ages 2 to 4 living in a household under 185 percent federal poverty level are overweight (2007 California Health Interview Survey).

Read about: Head Start children “Go, Glow and Grow” in Riverside | View Other Stories