As a summer employee of August WIC, I was responsible for coordinating a weekly Power of Produce (POP) Club for children ages K-12 at the Waynesboro Farmers Market. The club was created with funds from a healthy eating/active living grant with the purpose of raising awareness and helping WIC clients and Boys and Girls Club participants in making healthy behavioral changes.  Children that participated in the program received $2 of “Market Money” to spend on fruits, vegetables, and herbs at the farmer's market.

In collaboration with Boys and Girls club, this week we taught kids about MyPlate and making healthy food choices. 

In collaboration with Boys and Girls club, this week we taught kids about MyPlate and making healthy food choices. 

Every week I was tasked with creating a fun educational activity for the children that focused on healthy eating and activity. Additionally, I was responsible for purchasing supplies (within weekly budget limitations), keeping track of receipts and budget, keeping track of weekly Market Money, writing weekly newsletters for the parents highlight past and future events, and providing the children with a fun, educational experience!

Which squash will make the cut? Going through the bins to make sure that clients get the best quality squash and any ‘bad seeds’ weren’t distributed.

Which squash will make the cut? Going through the bins to make sure that clients get the best quality squash and any ‘bad seeds’ weren’t distributed.

Blue Ridge Area Food Bank (BRAFB), is a non-profit organization that provide food assistance to families across the Blue Ridge Area. According to their website, last year they distributed “20.6 million meals to hungry families!”  While volunteering I helped sort through fruits, vegetables, and other canned goods in preparation for distribution. Additionally, I worked with a team of students to create a PSA and inforgraphic (English and Spanish) to assist with the BRAFB’s marketing efforts. 

BRAFB prides its self in mission and believes that it “exists for a few very simple reasons: Food sustains life. It restores options. It provides hope.” What a powerful message! During my time here, it was clear to me that the people that work for this organization are passionate about jobs. It was honor to help any way that I could. I was blown away by my experience!

 

Here's a sample of the marketing materials I helped to make for BRAFB:

Uploaded by Karen Leibowitz on 2015-12-08.

During the summer of 2015, I was able to shadow the RDNs at Inova Fairfax Hospital for 100 hours. What an amazing opportunity to shadow this group! Reading concepts in a book and finally being able to see them first hand are two different things and this was another experience that solidifies my decision to go into this field. I want to make a difference in people's lives and watching these RDNs work was inspiring.  I especially enjoyed my time with the pediatric RDN! In addition to shadowing, I also developed a case study on a pediatric patient with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia.