Resources

By: Jenny Rea, Ph.D. Adapted by Anna Peterson Did you know… 25% of active-duty spouses reported food insecurity in 2021? The 2021 Survey of Active Duty Spouses found that 27% of families with children under six experienced food insecurity. Among this same group of active-duty spouses, 41% were unemployed. These findings echo those mentioned in Noelle Harden’s (Health and Nutrition Educator, University of Minnesota Extension) recent blog post . Noelle provided an overview of nutrition...

By Noelle Harden I recently talked with my mom and grandparents about hunger and food insecurity in the military. My grandpa served in the air force, then worked for the Veterans Administration. My mom spent her childhood moving across the country from base to base. They shared their struggles to be able to afford healthy and affordable food. Food Insecurity in the Military The RAND Corporation released a report last month on food security in the military. They found that 15.4% of active...

When you think about how societies have grown and developed in the past, can you identify efforts where, “ good governance, sustainable socio-economic development, cultural preservation, and environmental conservation,” were prioritized? Unfortunately, most stories of development tell tales of exciting economic growth and ignore the inequity that serves as the foundation for their success. However, some countries are shifting from economic-focused standards of development to factors centered...

Thank you to Dee Walls and Maxwell Wallace from the University of Illinois for leading a webinar last week on the Community Seminar Series. The Community Seminar Series (CSS) is a collaboration between the Interdisciplinary Health Sciences Institute (IHSI) and Illinois Extension that began in March 2020. It serves as a platform for graduate and postdoc students to share their health research with community members, faculty, and healthcare professionals. During this presentation, Dee Walls ,...

Are you serving aging adults or individuals with disabilities in your community? If so, it may be helpful to get connected to your local Area Agency on Aging (AAA). AAAs, not to be confused with the travel club, are entities established by federal law to provide information and resources for older adults and caregivers. An AAA serves every county in every state – find your local AAA based on your zip code using Eldercare Locator . Area Agencies on Aging administer federal, state, and local...

The framework was approved by the Extension Committee on Organization and Policy (ECOP) in 2021 and was designed to serve as a roadmap for advancing the health-focused work of the Cooperative Extension System. The framework is organized around three core themes: health equity, social determinants of health, and working through coalitions to increase community health assets. This webinar, recorded on October 25, 2022, provides an overview of the framework and shares resources for Extension...

As all nutrition professionals, educators, and researchers know, nutrition science is constantly evolving, and staying up to date on new and emerging research is important. The Food and Nutrition Information Center (FNIC) at USDA’s National Agricultural Library is making it easier to receive credible federally and privately-funded research updates from Agricultural Research Service (ARS) priority nutrition journals with a new, free Research Publications (Nutrition) feed. Why is FNIC’s...

Soldier with children | IStock

By Jenny Rea, Ph.D. While many separating Service members successfully adapt to civilian life, 40 to 75% describe some difficulties managing this major transition (Castro & Kintzle, 2017; Zoli, Maury, & Fay, 2015). For instance, within the first year of transitioning to civilian life, Veterans face increased challenges with homelessness, family integration, employment, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and substance abuse, all of which can increase the risk for suicide ( VA,...

The GPCAH is now accepting proposals for pilot projects intended to promote innovative outreach and research efforts to prevent agricultural injury and illness in our Midwest region. Learn more and apply at https://bit.ly/Pilots2022 . The pilot program offers two funding tracks (see below) and supports both community-based organizations and academic researchers , especially new investigators and trainees, and encourages applications from those newly interested in agricultural health and...

Military and veteran suicides is not only a public health concern within the Department of Defense and the Department of Veterans Affairs, but a concern within which the communities they live and serve. September is Suicide Prevention Month, and we want to highlight upcoming events from OneOp that may be helpful for service members, veterans, and military families within your local communities and surrounding counties. Suicide is a leading cause of death overall in the United States and the...

Learn about the community-building opportunities that emerged during the COVID-19 pandemic and how you can start building the foundation for community recovery for the future.