Family and Community Health Sciences

Family & Community Health Sciences (FCHS) promotes healthy families, schools, and communities throughout Burlington County through education and collaboration; focusing on food, nutrition, and health, chronic disease and prevention, physical activity, as well as food safety and security. FCHS encourages today’s busy families and individuals to learn more and make personal choices to improve health through research and practical advice.

FCHS Outreach Focuses On

• Nutrition, Health and Lifestyle
• Food Safety
• Family Wellness
• Workplace Wellness
• School Wellness

Initiatives and Programs

Nutrition Basics and Wellness

Learn about the basics of every day nutrition including fiber, protein, sugar, greens, fats, and more. Wellness workshops discuss the connection between social determinants of health, stress, and the role of nutrition and support for choosing healthy eating patterns. The added benefit of active living whatever your hobby or interest may be is explored in simple, easy tips that promote life-long lifestyle changes.

Functional Foods for Life Series

Our audiences continue to be interested in the connection between the food they eat and the possible health benefits. This series of interactive seminars features engaging lecture and discussion paired with a unique taste testing.

• Chocolate: Is It The New Health Food?
• Bringing Vegetables to The Table: A Celebration of the Harvest
• A Tea Seminar: Drink to Your Health
• Focus on Fungi: Mushrooms & Their Health Benefits
• Coffee: Should It Be Your Mug of Choice?
• Berries & You: Perfect Together

School Wellness

School Wellness initiatives support schools and early care centers with building and sustaining a healthier school environment by:

• Working together to develop wellness policies and active wellness councils.
• Training teachers to integrate food, nutrition, and wellness messages into classroom learning.
• Providing direction to create edible school gardens and edible education lessons that support Common Core and New Jersey Core Curriculum Content Standards.
• Training school nutrition professionals to develop strategies that increase fruit and vegetable consumption and identify opportunities to purchase more locally grown produce.
• Identifying strategies to engage families in wellness.
• Supporting initiatives to create active learning opportunities that increase physical activity throughout the school day.

Worksite Wellness

Workforce Wellness responds to the needs of local, county, and small business to deliver evidence-based information to empower employees to maintain a healthy lifestyle. The health and wellness of employees has a direct effect on employers and their business. A healthy workforce is a productive workforce and is vital to a healthy community. An online wellness program, including weekly newsletters and nudges may be a way to get your group or organization moving and staying healthy.