Renda Nelson named Better Living for Texans state program leader
Writer: Kay Ledbetter, 806-677-5608, [email protected]
Contact: Renda Nelson, 806-677-5600, [email protected]
AMARILLO – Renda Nelson has been named to the newly created position of Better Living for Texans state program director in the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service.
The announcement was made by Dr. Jenna Anding, who has served as the Better Living for Texans, or BLT, principal investigator, in addition to other duties as AgriLife Extension program leader for nutrition and food sciences in College Station.
“This is the right time to provide the program with a full-time leader,” Anding said. “BLT has grown considerably over the past decade, both in budget and programming we are now offering. I’m so proud of all the work that our agents and assistants do to improve the diet, physical activity, and food resource and safety habits of limited-resource audiences.”
Nelson was hired as the BLT regional program manager for the North Region in 2012 and headquartered in Amarillo. She will remain at the Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Center in Amarillo in her new position.
Prior to coming to Texas, Nelson worked in USDA’s Supplemental Nutrition Education Program, or SNAP-Ed, in Missouri. She is a native of Indiana and earned her bachelor’s from Indiana University and master’s from the University of Kansas, both in education.
“Renda has great experience in building partnerships, and I know she is going to be a great asset to the program and to our leadership team,” Anding said. “She will do a great job and is committed not only to BLT but to the people this program serves.”
As a regional program leader, Nelson recently worked with a team of agents and specialists to develop the “A Fresh Start to a Healthier You!” curriculum. She said the curriculum is aimed at engaging adults by using practical experience and information to help change lives and improve health for their families and themselves.
“I’m very excited about this new position, as it provides a greater opportunity for me to reach out to our low income audience through the work of all our regional program managers, county agents and BLT assistants across the state,” Nelson said.
“I look forward to expanding my experience beyond this region and hopefully make a difference in the lives of many others.”
BLT is a cooperative effort established in 1994 AgriLife Extension, the Texas Health and Human Services Commission and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition Service.
The goal of BLT and the SNAP-Ed program is to provide free educational programs that increase the likelihood that recipients will make healthy food choices. The nutrition education provided by program educators is research-based.
Nelson said about one in every six Texas households lives in poverty. Research shows individuals who live in poverty have dietary intakes deficient in the consumption of fruits and vegetables, whole grains, dairy products and lean meat. Dietary quality has been linked to four of the 10 leading causes of death including heart disease, cancer, stroke and diabetes.
In addition, many low-income families are also food insecure, meaning that the availability of nutritionally adequate and safe food is limited or uncertain, she said.
Both Anding and Nelson said the regional position in Amarillo vacated by Nelson will be filled in the near future.
