A very small team has a big impact in Rockland County - nutrition program in Rockland County, New York

It's early Wednesday morning at the Haverstraw broth Kitchen in Rockland County, fresh York, and more than 50 nation have gathered here for a fiery breakfast.

Preparing waffles for a throng is no small job, on the other hand the volunteers who run this meeting-house basement operation do it cheerfully. They know these race need their help, and before leaving at 8:30 a.m. to go on about their daily lives, they will also prepare luncheon and dinner.

This morning Rhoda Appel and Nancy Sielecki are here; they have been since 6:30 a.m. Appel, a place of abode economist, and Sielecki, a registered dietitian, tend hitherward here often to talk about provisions and nutrition, distribute helpful information, and provide assistance in any way they can.

Their neighborhood is welcome and comfortable. As they engage in easy conversation with tribe singly and in small collections Appel and Sielecki strengthen the rapport they have worked hard to establish.

They repeat this scenario each day in senior centers, WIC clinics, broth kitchens, emergency shelters, Head Start center supermarkets, and just about any other place they can think of to achieve across their message about meat and health.

Part of a special educational effort

Appeal and Sielecki are part of Rockland County's PAN (Program of Assistance for Nutrition) throw PAN is a comprehensive, well-planned nutrition education effort which targets the demographics of Rockland shire for maximum impact.

individual of its strengths is sensitivity to the ethnic beliefs and choices of the low-income families who live there. The smallest shire in New York, Rockland is also single of the most culturally diverse. About an hour's drive north of fresh York City, the county is abode to many groups, including sizeable Haitian and Hispanic populations as well as a large Hasidic community. Hasidic hebrews practice a form of orthodox Judaism and have strict dietary rules

Concentrating upon the five lowest income areas, PAN's goal is to reach all of the county's nourishment stamp recipients and applicants with information that can help them improve their nutritional status.

throw staff work to increase their clients' understanding of the character of diet in good health, inform them of available viands and nutrition programs, and help them unravel useful consumer skills. Team members make special efforts to reach those nutriment stamp recipients who are homeles somewhat advanced in life or homebound.

Thousands reached in many settings

Begun in 1986 the PAN cast was originally developed in conjunction with a nutrition education campaign initiated by means of the Governor's office. When the state shifted its focus from nutrition education to outreach in 1989 the Rockland shire Department of Social Services decided to continue its nutrition education cast as a local effort.

stocked by the New York State viands Stamp Program with federal matching capitals from USDA's Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) PAN is the single nutrition education project of its kind in the state.

Last year alone, PAN reached as many as 26000 diet stamp families. That's an impressive number, especially considering the size of the cast team. In addition to Rhoda Appel, who is throw out coordinator, there are two other full-time abode economists--Judy Weinberger and Harriet Lopaty. Nancy Sielecki works with the shoot forward 20 hours a week.

The PAN team's many accomplishments last year included:

* providing individual nutrition and consumer counseling to 218 family on an ongoing basis;

* making appropriate referrals for more than 1100 clan who needed other kinds of help in addition to nutrition education;

* holding 35 nutrition and consumer skills workshops;

* distributing nearly 44000 pieces of written information;

* setting up and staffing a nutrition booth at local groceries stores 1 day a week; and

* engaging in a entertainer of other highly visible activities all designed to encourage the county's poorest residents to think in metes of good nutrition and profitable health.

Not as easy to measure on the other hand equally significant is the way the staff tailors activities and materials to the cultural, social, and dietary elections of each population and to the wants of the individuals they counsel

Networking gives throw out visibility

"To begin a shoot forward like this, you have to know your shire very well," says Appel. "You definitely have to do a extremitys assessment. Beyond that, you have to make known a network with all the indigence agencies in the county. Because we are a part of the Department of Social Services, we are able to reach on the outside to a lot of family This is very important."

Sielecki agrees that networking is crucial. "The majority of our clients are either referrals or clan we reach out to in broth kitchens, senior centers, or any of the different places we advance in the community," she says.

Networking gives the PAN staff high visibility among other need agencies and, more importantly, among nutrition stamp clients. "Clients come by used to seeing us everywhere and they start to trust us," says Sielecki. "When they are ready, they will ask for help."