Welcome to the last week of National Nutrition Month, which began on March 1, 2025! This year’s theme is “Food Connects Us”. The focus for the fourth week of March is “Build the Connection Across All Stages of Life”. The important points of this week’s message from the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics are:

• Learn how nutrient needs may change with age.
• Include healthful foods from all food groups.
• Focus on balance and sustainable eating habits.

Cooperative Extension agents can help build the connection between food and nutrition across all ages and stages of life in their communities by providing programming on how nutrient needs change over the lifespan, featuring healthful foods from all food groups and focusing on balanced and sustainable habits for healthy living. This week we are highlighting Taneisha Armstrong, an FCS Agent from Pitt County, who is working with the Preschool Applied Sciences (PEAS) program to connect preschools with food and nutrition! Read more about Taneisha and the PEAS program below.Ideas to get the community involved:

• Work with a local grocery store to promote National Nutrition Month and nutrition across all stages of life with posters and handouts.
• Organize a National Nutrition Month presentation and nutrition education for seniors at your local senior center.
• Contact your local library to ask about doing a story-time or nutrition program for children and parents.
• Host a summer cooking camp in collaboration with 4-H.

For more information about National Nutrition Month and resources from the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, visit eatright.org. This website includes a social media toolkit with weekly graphics and messages ready for you to distribute to your community (note: AND prohibits alteration of NNM social media graphics for public distribution).

Learn more about what Taneisha is doing in Pitt County!

Taneisha Armstrong worked with the PEAS program at a local Head Start Center in Farmville, NC. In the fall, she helped the children plant and harvest their center’s first garden. Over the course of the fall, the children took part in various tasks to tend to the garden (e.g., weeding, watering, graphing vegetable growth over time) or further their learning (e.g., reading books) with hopes to encourage their curiosity and self-efficacy. After a few months of patiently waiting for the harvest, Taneisha and the children enjoyed harvesting, preparing, and eating the vegetables that they grew in the garden.

"I love to see the reaction on a child's face when they try a fruit or vegetable for the first time, whether they like it or not. Having the opportunity to introduce them to a new food and sharing that experience with them will stick with me for a lifetime."

More PEAS Please! is an innovative, evidence-based, Extension program designed to empower early childhood teachers, families, and communities with strategies to improve children’s school readiness and dietary quality through early education, exposure, and access to healthy foods using high-quality science learning experiences. PEAS addresses current educational and health challenges and sets a precedent for future early childhood education, health, and well-being which is highlighted in their motto, “today’s healthy kids, tomorrow’s leading scientists.” Learn more at morepeasplease.org!

Written by Maggie Martin and Emily Youmans, dietetic interns.

Maggie and Emily are MS Nutrition students at Meredith College and dietetic interns in the Department of Agricultural and Human Sciences for the spring 2025 semester under the supervision of Christy O’Connor, Produce Prescription and Diabetes Programs, Extension Associate, and Dr. Basheerah Enahora, Assistant Professor and Extension Specialist.