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Purdue Extension also is introducing the Expanded
Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP) to Hispanic families
in Indianapolis. Alma Jones, Purdue Extension family nutrition advisor,
visits several Hispanic and Latino families daily to teach them
about reading food labels, buying and preparing healthy foods and
using recipes, which the language barrier can make a a struggle.
“Family is an important network for Hispanics,
and, since that support is not here, Extension programs such as
EFNEP are helping bridge that cultural gap,” says Julie Gray,
EFNEP coordinator. “We are putting them in touch with resources
and helping them feel more comfortable in their new setting.”
Like the Castillos, many Hispanics seek employment
and a better way of life in the United States through permanent
residency. Many others, however, migrate to Indiana from May to
October to work in crop and vegetable fields. While the migrant
workers are living in Indiana, Kimber Nicoletti, minority outreach
coordinator for the Purdue Extension program CARe (Communities Against
Rape), partners with the Texas Migrant Council to deliver Platicas,
or parent talks, to Head Start staff and Hispanic parents at nine
different migrant locations. Nicoletti talks with the parent groups
about topics such as child development, stress, discipline, and
domestic and sexual violence prevention. “For many of these
families, culturally appropriate resources are limited in Indiana,
and this is one of their few outlets,” Nicoletti says.
Outreach to Indiana’s Hispanic population
is still in its beginning stages. Purdue Extension has established
the Intercultural Action Committee for Extension to look at the
issues of multiculturalism and internationalism. David Petritz,
director of Purdue Extension, says this group will define a direction
on where Extension needs to focus its efforts with the Hispanic
population and other cultures. The committee’s ideas will
then help Extension educators develop local programming and education
for their specific populations.
By reaching out to Indiana’s Hispanic population
through both established and new programs, Purdue Extension is helping
new residents adapt to a new culture and homeland and thereby avoid
the isolation that immigrants like Marilu Castillo felt in years
past.
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