Nutrition Connections Program
The Nutrition Connections program in Strafford County targets limited-income adults, families, and youth. We provide no-fee, life-skills education in:
- Nutrition
- Meal planning, food shopping & food budgeting, cooking
- Food safety
- Becoming more physically active
Nutrition Connections motivates and empowers program participants to:
- Eat healthier and exercise regularly to:
- Improve weight control, mood, energy, school and job performance;
- Reduce risk and improve management of chronic diseases like diabetes, heart disease, cancer, and osteoporosis which drive our spiraling healthcare costs and reduce quality of life.
- Read and understand food labels to select nutritious foods
- Save $$$ at the supermarket and still make healthier choices
- Plan and prepare quick, low-cost meals that are tasty and nutritious
- Prevent foodborne illness which affects 1 in 4 Americans annually
Adult programs: We provide education to groups at agency locations and other venues but also work one-on-one with individuals and families in their homes. Learning activities are tailored to the needs of the participant(s). A typical program consists of 4-6 sessions of 1½ to 2 hours over 4 to 8 weeks. If cooking is requested, the agency or participant is responsible for providing equipment and food. We also offer a no-fee nutrition correspondence course.
Youth programs: We provide nutrition education to preschoolers at Head Start centers and income-qualifying daycare centers, and to schools with at least 40% of students receiving free or reduced-fee lunch.
We also offer the HEALthy Schools program to help schools improve their nutrition and physical fitness environment. Features include an online fitness/wellness course (worth 45 CEU’s), a nutrition-theme bookbag program that helps meet reading requirements, and $100 worth of nutrition education supplies for each 40 hour devoted to the program.
Eligibility for Nutrition Connections Programs
- Adults: Families and individuals with incomes up to 185% of Federal Poverty Guidelines ($40,793 for a family of 4) or most people receiving some form of public assistance such as WIC, TANF, Food Stamps, APTD, Medicaid, SSI, fuel assistance. Healthy Kids
- Youth: Head Start centers and elementary or middle schools with at least 40% of students receiving free or reduced-fee lunch.
For further information, please contact:
David Leonard, Educational Program Coordinator, Nutrition Connections. Phone: 603-516-8115 or e-mail: david.leonard@unh.edu
Online Resources:
- BMI (Body Mass Index) & healthy weight calculator for children
- BMI calculator for adults
- Cooking (crockpot tips)
- Cooking & Recipes (our Quick & Easy Meals guide)
- Cooking & Recipes (Univ. of Nebraska
- Farmers’ markets & local food guide (Seacoast area)
- Fish benefits & safety guidelines (wallet card for ocean fish)
- Fish safety guidelines (NH lakes)
- Food nutrient content
- Food encyclopedia
- Food (home canning & other food preservation
- Food pantries in NH
- Food safety (crockpots)
- Food safety (general)
- Food safety (microwave ovens)
- Food safety (storage guidelines
- Food Stamps FAQ
- Health information (Mayo Clinic)
- Health information (HealthFinder)
- MyPyramid (personalized eating plans, healthy eating tips)
- Smart Choices newsletter & other UNH publications
- Vegetarian diet information
Return to: Strafford County webpage