May Family & Consumer Science Newsletter

May is a month of transitions

Spring is in full swing with temperatures fluctuating, leaves budding out, and pollen filling the air. Summer is on it's way and (most) everyone is looking forward to summer. This is why May is a good time to prepare for the summer months by doing a mental health check, educating yourself on sun safety, and celebrating root canals - yep, that's a real annual celebration happening the second Wednesday of May.

I hope the month of May brings you more to celebrate than a root canal!

Mental Health Awareness

Each year in May, Mental Health America launches a toolkit for Mental Health Awareness Month. The toolkits contain encouragement and tips for dealing with mental health issues. This year the kit provides practical resources and information about how an individual's environment impacts their mental health, suggestions for making changes to improve and maintain mental well-being, and how to seek help for mental health challenges.

To get an overall picture of the Mental Health status of US residents and why awareness is so important, check out some of the most recent statistics:

Over 50 million Americans experience a mental illness.
Over 1 in 10 youth in the U.S. are experiencing depression that is severely impairing their ability to function at school or work, at home, with family, or in their social life.
In the U.S., there are an estimated 350 individuals for every one mental health provider.
North Carolina ranked #5 out of 51 in the US (including the District of Columbia) for prevalence of mental illness in residents, indicating a lower prevalence of mental health and substance use issues compared to states that ranked 39-51.

April came with some crazy weather, and it looks like May is following with the same. As we were doing the plant sale distribution in the parking lot, I was enjoying the sunshine a bit too much. Between the gentle breeze, moving around filling orders, and the happiness of being away from my desk, I didn't realize how much sun I was getting. That afternoon I went inside and my arms were glowing. My shoulders and arms were fried, and a week and a half later, they're still peeling.

Many adults still think you only need sunscreen when going to the pool, lake, beach, or amusement park. The truth is, you need sun protection daily. The day I spent outdoors with the plant sale, my face never got burnt even though it was completely exposed. My makeup is blended with SPF 30, so it protected my skin. The American Cancer Society recommends using products with SPF 30 or higher for the best protection.

It's easy to get distracted when outdoors, especially if your job is based outside. Farmers, construction workers, DOT employees, landscapers, and many other professions require many hours in the sun. However, all people - regardless of age or the amount of time spent outdoors - should be aware of healthy habits when it comes to sun exposure. Do you know what it takes to stay safe in the sun? If so, share your knowledge with others!

Focusing On Women's Health

Women in today's society take on many different roles and are often stretched thin. I know as a mom of two small humans and 10 week old puppy, a wife, and a full-time employee, at the end of the day, there isn't much time left for me. According to the CDC, two out of every three caregivers in the United States are women, meaning they provide daily or regular support to children, adults, or people with chronic illnesses or disabilities. That's a lot of women!

Women who are caregivers have a greater risk for poor physical and mental health. Preventive care can keep disease away or detect problems early so that treatment is more effective.

In addition to the tips on the left, familiarize yourself with warning signs and symptoms of cancers, diseases, and common health problems affecting women.

One of the things our office is working on is the massive update to the old "Yancey Grown" website. The site is outdated and hard to navigate. Since working with Local Foods is part of my FCS duties, I want to take the information we collect for the Yancey Grown website and compile a Local Food Guide. This guide would organize businesses and organizations by type, such as restaurant, farmer's market, farms, etc., and available in digital and print formats. Our Yancey Grown database is outdated, so I'm hoping to collect new, updated information using a simple Google Form. Please share the link with anyone you know who fit into any of the categories relating to local food, agriculture, or agricultural education.

Monthly Recipe Feature

In honor of International Burger Day on May 28th, this month's recipe takes a healthier spin on the traditional burger. The recipe comes from our MED Instead of Meds curriculum.

The Mediterranean way of eating contains very limited amounts of red meat. One way to decrease consumption of red meat is to add vegetables so that you are consuming less. This recipe introduces lots of mushrooms (a 1 to 1 ratio to meat) for a flavorful but lighter burger. Using a food processor will speed up your work but a good knife will do the trick as well. You want the raw mushrooms to be a little bit larger than crumbled ground beef. Then when they cook they resemble ground beef and combine well with the hamburger.

Needing Your Certification?

I am officially certified to offer the ServSafe Manager Course and proctor the exam for those needing to renew a certification or obtain a new certification. Our first class completed the process over a two-day period including 8 hours of educational time, breaks for lunch and stretching, over an hour of review before taking the exam, and the exam itself.

A new class will be offered in the summer, probably in July. All payments are due two weeks prior to class in order to get materials purchased and delivered on time.

If you need a certification before our next class is announced, please reach out!