Promoting Awareness of Food Assistance and Nutrition for Iowans age 50+
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The Symposium provides undergraduates from all academic disciplines with an opportunity to share their research with the university community and other guests through conference-style oral presentations. The Symposium represents part of a larger effort of Iowa State University to enhance, support, and celebrate undergraduate research activity.
Though coordinated by the University Honors Program, all undergraduate students are eligible and encouraged to participate in the Symposium. Undergraduates conducting research but not yet ready to present their work are encouraged to attend the Symposium to learn about the presentation process and students not currently involved in research are encouraged to attend the Symposium to learn about the broad range of undergraduate research activities that are taking place at ISU.
The first Symposium was held in April 2007. The 39 students who presented research and their mentors collectively represented all of ISU's Colleges: Agriculture and Life Sciences, Business, Design, Engineering, Human Sciences, Liberal Arts and Sciences, Veterinary Medicine, and the Graduate College. The event has grown to regularly include more than 100 students presenting on topics that span the broad range of disciplines studied at ISU.
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Iowans age 50+ with limited incomes are at higher risk of poor nutritional status and could benefit from food assistance (FA). The purpose of the Wellness and Independence through Nutrition (WIN) program is to increase awareness of FA and low-cost nutrition tips for Iowans age 50+ in 14 counties where FA enrollment is low. The WIN Program includes two direct presentations (~30 minutes each) and two indirect presentations that discuss the benefits of FA and low-cost nutrition tips. These were conducted at places serving adults age 50+ (e.g. congregate meal sites, low-income senior housing, or health fairs). The WIN Program reached 1,493 adults; demographic information was not collected due to privacy issues. Paper/pencil surveys (11 questions total: 2 nutrition, 3 FA, and 6 food security) were completed by 272 participants during the presentations. Survey responses were entered into survey monkey and analyzed using descriptive statistics. Most participants answered at least one FA question (n= 214, 78.7%) and at least one nutrition question (n= 207, 76.1%) correctly. Over one-quarter (26.8%) expressed interest in applying for FA. These results suggest the WIN program is effective in increasing the awareness of FA benefits and low-cost nutrition tips for this group of adults.