Life in the Nutritional Trenches

Providing high-quality child care is difficult under the best circumstances. When you care for children whose families face serious financial and nutritional issues, it’s even more challenging. That’s Amy Cetrone’s daily reality.

As director of Positive Parenting Pre-School Center in McKees Rocks, Pa., a center located downtown in a renovated bank building, she views the local community and the nutritional education needs of its residents with a hard-eyed honesty.

“This was a railroad town, so it actually went down the tubes before the steel mills did,” she says. “We have a lot of bars, fast food joints, and discount stores, but no major industry. Most families don’t have cars.”

They’re the working poor, struggling to get by with three or four kids and average incomes well below poverty level. “The husband might work at a restaurant and the wife may work at a grocery store, and their combined income for five people is under $40,000—probably closer to thirty. I know a young lady who’s a college graduate. She and her husband work in retail, and they qualify for WIC with their two kids. They qualify for food stamps. It’s not uncommon. You’re each making $18,000 to $20,000 a year, and you have two kids, and you’re barely getting by.”

Cetrone is quick to count her blessings: most of her preschool’s parents are in their twenties and thirties; few are teen or single parents. She’s fortunate to work with parents who feel a sense of ownership with the center’s programs and tell staff what they need.

In addition, the preschool shares the building with a WIC office and a local farmers’ market—important allies in the fight for good nutrition. She’s also enlisted Penn State Cooperative Extension’s nutrition education programs to help.

“WIC is underused and the farmers’ market is used primarily by senior citizens,” Cetrone says. “We’re trying to get our parents to cook more from scratch, so we bring programs in that help them use fresh things and make things themselves. For instance, you can use pumpkins for a lot of other things beside carving—sometimes you just need someone to show you how.”
That’s where Pamela Heckman comes in. As a Penn State nutrition educator in Allegheny County, she runs a twice-daily, twelve-week seminar that introduces new foods and nutritional concepts to children and their parents.

“Pam brings in activities that introduce the colors, textures, and aromas of fruits and vegetables the kids might not be familiar with,” Cetrone says. “Pam’s very personable and puts the kids at ease as she presents new foods, nutrition concepts, and vocabulary phrases.”

The second part of Heckman’s program teaches parents new preparation techniques. “We sometimes have a hard time convincing parents to try something new,” Cetrone says. “Everyone works, so who has the time? But even though it takes a little effort, parents find it beneficial in the long run, both health-wise and money-wise.”

Heckman demonstrates cost-effective ways to prepare healthy foods using ingredients available from food banks, farmers’ markets, and other sources. Because of childhood obesity issues, she stresses substituting fruits for fatty, sugary snacks. Amazingly enough, the kids still love her.

“The kids think she’s the best thing since sliced bread,” Cetrone says. “Her first session covered germs and handwashing. She talked about how important it is to wash hands properly, then she used a blacklight to show the kids what they missed when they washed improperly. The parents were astounded; she taught many of them, too. Now they look forward every week to her visits.”

—Gary Abdullah