Judy Broussard, center, Vermilion Parish, receives the Outstanding Paraprofessional in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Education award for 2011. Her supervisor is Mandy Armentor, right, extension nutritionist. Heli Roy, an associate professor in the School of Human Ecology, oversees the statewide program. (Photo by Frankie Gould) Rina Castillo Trochman, center, Lafayette Parish, was honored as the 2011 Outstanding Paraprofessional in the Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program. Her supervisor is Janis Coussan, extension nutritionist. Ellen Murphy is an associate director in the School of Human Ecology. (Photo by Frankie Gould) News Release Distributed 03/24/11
Two LSU AgCenter nutrition educators received top honors at the 2011 Community Nutrition Programs Awards Banquet on March 17 in Baton Rouge.
The award for Outstanding Paraprofessional in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Education (SNAP-Ed) went to Judy Broussard from Vermilion Parish. The Outstanding Paraprofessional in the Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP) was Rina Castillo Trochman of Lafayette Parish.
Both of these programs, which are federally funded, have as their mission to teach nutrition to underserved, at-risk people, according to Heli Roy, LSU AgCenter nutritionist.
SNAP-Ed, formerly known as Family Nutrition Program, has been in Louisiana for 16 years and is aimed at people on or eligible for food stamps. The EFNEP serves low-income families with young children and has been around for more than 40 years, starting in the early 1970s, Roy said.
Broussard has been a nutrition educator since 2006 under the supervision of LSU AgCenter nutritionist Mandy Armentor in Vermilion Parish. In addition to teaching nutrition, Broussard also works with the 4-H character education program. She has taught more than 500 youth and 61 adults from 11 schools. Broussard helps the local library with various nutrition displays and workshops. She also teaches nutrition and food safety classes at cooking camps and special workshops.
Trochman has been with EFNEP since 2008. Her supervisor is LSU AgCenter nutritionist Janis Coussan in Lafayette Parish. One of her goals has been to reach more Hispanics, and she conducted the first Hispanic Health Fair in Lafayette Parish. She also works with the Fighting Infant Mortality Review Committee and a literacy program aimed at young parents seeking their high school diploma.
SNAP-Ed is conducted in 61 of Louisiana’s 64 parishes and involves teaching about 4,000 adults and 48,000 children in more than 160 schools. The EFNEP is in 11 parishes and serves about 2,000 families including 13,000 children, according to Annrose Guarino, LSU AgCenter nutritionist.
Linda Foster Benedict