The FoodWise Program is a federally-funded grant program providing educational programming on nutrition, food safety, and fitness to low-income youth and adults of Marathon County. The goal of the FoodWIse Program of Marathon County is to work in partnership with others to provide nutrition education to limited-income individuals that empower them to make healthy choices that are consistent with the food guide pyramid.
2019 FoodWIse Healthy Eating Series
Youth Education
School Nutrition Programs
One of our biggest program areas is with children in the classroom setting. Currently, we are working with two school districts and seven elementary schools. These schools were targeted for our program based on their percentage of free and reduced-price lunch enrollment.
- Food, Fun & Fitness Program – This program reaches school children in the elementary setting, grades-kindergarten, second and fourth. The overall program is focused around the three main goals of the USDA’s Team Nutrition Project. The goals are aimed at improving the health of children by empowering them to:
- choose a variety of foods
- eat more grains, fruits and vegetables
- eat a diet lower in fat
- Help Us Grow (HUG) Program – This program was initiated after various studies reflected poorly on the nutritional status of today’s youth. This school nutrition/gardening program has three goals:
- increase youth consumption of fruits and vegetables
- build awareness of where food comes from
- teach youth how to prepare healthy snacks
Goals are accomplished through nutrition lessons, hands-on food preparation, and indoor/outdoor growing activities.
Summer 4-H Clubs
Low-income, urban youth participate in three summer clubs designed to introduce them to the many opportunities available through 4-H. FoodWIse teaches weekly lessons in food preparation, nutrition, and healthy snacking.
Other
Other presentations occur at the Marathon County youth shelter home, Children’s Festival, after-school programs, and schools not currently included in our school nutrition program.
Adult Education
Adult education is provided in many ways. Older adults can discover how tasty “heart healthy” cooking can be. Marathon County is home to a large population of Southeast Asians. This provides an excellent opportunity to experience cross-cultural exchanges of foods and ideas for all age groups.
Adult education is provided in many ways in our program. Thousands of Marathon County residents benefit annually from nutrition messages found in our “learn while you wait” brochures and displays. “Learn while you wait” sites including Women, Infants, and Children clinics and various food pantries give us an opportunity to educate adults in the county.
The Family Resource Center offers an additional avenue to educate adults in a classroom setting. Parents learn about basic nutrition and feeding guidelines for children as part of their Learning Essentials About Parenting (LEAP) twelve-week program.
Staff
If you have any questions regarding WNEP in Marathon County, please contact:
 Tammy HansenFoodWIse Program Coordinator Marathon County UW-Extension 212 River Drive, Suite 3 Wausau, WI 54403-5476 Phone: 715-261-1248 Phone: 800-236-0153 Fax: 715-261-1238 tammy.hansen@ces.uwex.edu |
|
 Paula HillFoodWIse Educator Marathon County UW-Extension 212 River Drive, Suite 3 Wausau, WI 54403-5476 Phone: 715-261-1249 Phone: 800-236-0153 Fax: 715-261-1238 paula.hill@ces.uwex.edu |
|
 Gaonou ThaoFoodWIse Educator Marathon County UW-Extension 212 River Drive, Suite 3 Wausau, WI 54403-5476 Phone: 715-261-1249 Phone: 800-236-0153 Fax: 715-261-1238 gaonou.thao@co.marathon.wi.us |
|
