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La. (KPLC) – A Lake Charles nutritionist is being recognized statewide after spending nearly a decade teaching Southwest Louisiana how to eat healthier
Yolanda Jones has spent years showing up to classrooms and community centers to help improve how local families eat, and it’s a mission that has paid off
“I’ve been here for approximately nine and a half years. Progress, progress, progress,” Jones said. “This job, if you know EFNEP, you know the consequences of the job and trying to get the impact on the citizens and families of Calcasieu Parish.”
Jones runs the Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program, or EFNEP, with the LSU AgCenter. It’s a free service for low-income families
Her dedication earned her the Cathryn Roberts Outstanding EFNEP Nutrition Educator State Award
“I’m most proud of the impact that I make on the community and the families,” Jones said. “Mainly when we’re out in the grocery store shopping, I may see some participants and I can actually see the impact by looking in their baskets, and of course they look in ours as well.”
Currently, Jones oversees ten classrooms, summer camps, a pregnancy center, and cooking programs teaching better nutrition habits across the parish
She says one of her students learning in the program was able to better manage their diabetes, and that’s what it’s all about
“She also was having complications with eating whole grain foods, in which that gives you high fiber content, so she was having some problems along with that,” Jones said. “Once she implemented those changes in her food choices, she found she was able to manage her weight and also manage her diabetes.”
Jones now aims to grow the nutrition-based program into new schools and reach more adults
She received the honor last week at the EFNEP Summer Training Conference in Baton Rouge
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