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New Mexico State University

Home Economics & ICAN (Ideas for Cooking and Nutrition)

Our county's Extension home economics program helps strengthen family life. In a rapidly changing world, the challenges facing individuals and families in our county are great. With A problem solving philosophy, we strive to develop programs to deal with complex issues facing local families. We are helping people build leadership and other skills. We teach through group training sessions and local programs and community projects. We are dedicated to solving community needs, concerns and issues.

Parenting & Child Development Education

Stakeholders who were asked to rank for Sandoval County Extension programming advisory group, which represented individuals from the county. The Sandoval County advisory group ranked parent education as the number one priority in the home economics area. Sandoval County ranks as the state's 5th most populous county. The county's birth rate decreased to a level of 8.8% below the state rate. The county's rate of 14.5 births per 1,000 population accounts of 4.4% of NM resident births. The percentage of births to single mother is 8.2% lower than statewide. According to the census 10% of the counties population is over the age of 65. Sandoval County is made up of a diverse population coming from an urban city to rural areas, and seven Indian pueblos. This makes up a very diverse population in Sandoval County.

Food & Nutrition Education

The situation in Sandoval County mirrors the national and state situation, but only more so for some specific areas of concern. Sandoval County consists of populations from seven Indian pueblos, to urban areas and even vary rural area communities. There is a very high rate of diabetes in Sandoval County among Native Americans that live within the pueblos and reservations. According to Kids Count, high blood pressure and obesity among Hispanic, Native American and Anglo populations are very prevalent. Heart disease, cancer and stroke are the leading cause of deaths, accounting for 53% of all deaths. Observed deaths are lower than expected for stroke. Observed deaths are higher than expected for accidents, diabetes, cirrhosis, atherosclerosis and alcoholism. Over 98% of all residents' births occur in other counties. Overall, the county experiences 2.7 births for every death.

Special Programs in Nutrition Education

In Sandoval County children under the age 18 living in poverty 20% in 1990, 2,147 food stamp cases were seen monthly in 1994. Other services that are being utilized in the county are free lunches 62%, and number of WIC cases have increase 43.3% according to Kids Count. Low income populations face numerous problems associated with inadequate nutrition. In some cases, children do not eat enough to sustain health and to grow and develop at optimal levels. Even more commonly, individuals make poor food choices, which can lead to chronic disease problems such as obesity, diabetes, and heart disease. Although benefits such as Food Stamps and WIC provide vital resources to some of those in need of food assistance, this resource is often not maximized. This is often due to recipients' lack of knowledge of the relationships between health and four areas: basic nutrition, food safety, food preparation, and food resource management. According to Sandoval County census heart disease, cancer and stroke are the leading causes of death, accounting for 53% of all adults.