The human side of UC Cooperative Extension

Two newspaper accounts this week touched on the human side of UC Cooperative Extension. Food shopping savvy was the focus of an article in the Santa Rosa Press-Democrat, in which the daughter of a veteran UCCE nutrition educator created a blueprint for people trying make ends meet in the new economy, the story said.

Gerardo and Briana Fernandez shared their personal financial trouble with reporter Jeremy Hay. Gerardo, a general contractor, saw his income slashed in half in the weak economy. The couple realized that, between eating out and grocery shopping, food was gulping $600 from their monthly budget. 

Sound shopping skills learned from Biana's mother, Wanda Tapia, the assistant interim county director for Sonoma County UC Cooperative Extension, helped the couple slice their monthly food costs down to about $300, and at the same time eat a more healthful diet.

For example, Tapia taught her daughter and son-in-law how to create a "reality-based" shopping list.

"You know what's in your cupboard, so you're not going to the store and buying something you already have, that's wasting money," Tapia was quoted. "You want to know what you have in your cupboard now, and your shopping list should only be those items that you need to complete your menu."

Other money-saving suggestions included:

• Watch store sales and clipping coupons
• Select nutritious fruits and vegetables
• Resist the seduction of buying in bulk
• Don't shop hungry

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Two 4-H members were featured prominently in a Santa Paula Times story about their participation in a coastal cleanup program. Selena Hurtado and Rayanna Rodriguez, with leader Carole Butler, picked up three large bags of trash totaling over 30 pounds at Oil Piers beach in Ventura. According to the story, the Mupu 4-H team collected more than 150 cigarette butts, 45 glass beer bottles, clothes, a pillow, towels, toys, food wrappers and aluminum cans.

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