FCS Nutrition Advisory Board Minutes

St. John the Baptist

Wednesday, May 9, 2018

St. John the Baptist Parish Library, LaPlace

Present: Lisa B. Weber, Patti Rodrigue, Sheela Jambotkor, Artis Williams, Joe Carr, Robert Taylor and Cynthia Clifton.

Cynthia Clifton opened the meeting at 10:05 a.m. and welcomed and thanked everyone for attending the FCS Nutrition Advisory Board meeting.

Opening prayer was led by Patti Rodrigue.

Everyone introduced themselves and stated what agency their affiliation.

Old Business:

Completed second Dining with Diabetes Program at Reserve Library on April 30, 2018.Also completed Follow Up Dining with Diabetes Program at Garyville Library on May 7, 2018.Participants reported that they learned a lot about their diabetes that their doctors didn’t explain to them, but now they have questions that they can go back and ask their doctor for more clarification.Cynthia Clifton stated that even though the Dining with Diabetes Program is being offered in the parish, not many people are taking advantage of the program and there are a lot of people that are suffering with diabetes in the parish.

Parts of St. John the Baptist Parish is smoke free especially the schools.

The opioid problem is a big problem in St. John the Baptist Parish.As stated at the last meeting by Macy Richard from South Central Louisiana Human Services Authority, that there is a program on Bayou TV that talks about the opioid problem and how it is bigger than expected.Artis Williams stated that there is a service 211 in St. John the Baptist Parish that usually gets calls regarding opioid use and abuse and can help with resources, but are not getting many calls.

Robert Taylor asked where the opioids were coming from?He also asked why doctors would prescribe medication that were addictive?

New Business:

Robert Taylor – concerned citizen of St. John the Baptist Parish spoke about how the chemical plants in St. John the Baptist Parish are exposing children in the parish to harmful chemicals.He stated that 0.2 mg/meter is being exposed to the children at Fifth Ward Elementary School in Reserve which is 15 miles away from the Denka Chemical Plant.Mr. Taylor stated the EPA Department reported that the people of the parish are exposed 400 times to the 0.2 mg/meter of poison chemical.

SMART Portions Program is a weight management program that was offered a couple of years ago in St. John the Baptist Parish that will be offered again in the coming months.This program is to help children, adults and families manage not only their weight, but their health also.Patti Rodrigue stated that she will talk to Mrs. Hymel at the East St. John High to see if she could get some high students interested in attending the program.

It was suggested that this program be advertised on the St. John the Baptist Parish Government website and the St. John the Baptist Parish School Board website along with flyers and newspaper.

Artis Williams asked how can we prevent health issues in schools? We have to get the students and parents involved in health programs.This will be looked at and worked on before the next meeting.Cynthia Clifton will get with Terry Charles, the Nutrition & School Food Service Director to see if she can help with this project.

The next meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, August 22, 2018.

Meeting adjourned at 11:30 a.m.