FoodWIse

FoodWIse Nutrition Educator

Maggie Milcarek

FoodWIse Nutrition Education Coordinator

Serving: Grant, Green, Iowa and Lafayette Counties

Serving: Grant, Green, Iowa and Lafayette Counties

Phone:

Phone:

(608) 930-9850

What is FoodWIse?

Our program focuses on (but is not limited to) providing free resources and education for:

  • Anyone who is eligible for SNAP (FoodShare, Quest Card), WIC, Wisconsin Works (W2), Social Security & Social Security Disability, or Free & Reduced Lunches.
  • Organizations and schools where at least 50% of their enrollment/population are eligible for the programs listed above.
  • We seek to empower Wisconsin residents with limited income to make healthy choices to achieve healthy lives and reduce health disparities.

FoodWIse educators work to expose students to new, nutritious foods and teach why they are important. We provide adults and families with tools that help them plan and prepare healthy meals while making the most with their food dollars.  We also work to help make the healthy choice, the easy choice in our community.

FoodWIse educators use a combination of evidence-based educational strategies, accompanied by environmental supports, designed to encourage healthy food choices and active lifestyles.  Our project works with the residents and community agencies and partners throughout Grant County.

FoodWIse is federally funded by the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program-Education (SNAP-Ed) and the Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP) and serves Wisconsin residents with limited incomes.

An EEO/AA employer, the University of Wisconsin-Madison Division of Extension provides equal opportunities in employment and programming, including Title VI, Title IX, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act requirements.

Como empleador que brinda igualdad de oportunidades en el empleo y acción afirmativa (EEO/AA, por sus siglas en inglés), la University of Wisconsin-Madison Division of Extension, proporciona igualdad de oportunidades en el empleo y en sus programas, incluyendo los requisitos del Título VI, Título IX, la ley federal para personas con discapacidades en los Estados Unidos (ADA, por sus siglas en inglés) y los requisitos de la Section 504 del Rehabilitation Act.


Here are some things you can expect from FoodWIse nutrition education:

  • Our programs can be small or large one-time or multi-session lessons at many different partner sites.
  • We provide partners and participants materials with information on nutrition, recipes, and money saving ideas and tips.  We connect people with research-based information from the USDA (MyPlate), UW-Madison, and other reputable sources.
  • We strive to make all lessons and handouts as accessible and personal as possible.  Getting to know participants and offering translation services is an important priority.  We also understand that we are not always the expert, sometimes our programs provide opportunities for individuals within a community to provide expertise with peers.

Some things we talk about and do are:

  • Demonstrate and identify how to prepare healthful, affordable meals and snacks.
  • Finding balance with the food we eat and the physical activity we get.
  • How to purchase, prepare, and store food safely.
  • Find ways that individuals and families might be able to make their food dollars go a little further.
Support Extension