Austin Area Farmers Market | www.eatfreshaustin.com | www.facebook.com/austinfarmersmarket

 

Dobbins Creek Farm | www.dobbinscreekfarm.weebly.com | www.facebook.com/DobbinsCreekFarm | 507-567-2009

 

Earth Dance Farm (CSA) | www.earthdancefarm.net | https://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Earth-Dance-Farm/100317814298?fref=ts | 507-378-4252

 

Farmer John’s Pumpkin Patch | www.farmerjohnspumpkinpatch.com | 507-437-2642

 

Farmer’s Market Place, LLC | www.facebook.com/farmersmarketplacellc | 507-438-3956

 

Hilltop Greenhouse and Farm (CSA) | www.hilltopgreenhouse.com | 507-889-3271

 

Oak Knoll Farm (CSA) | | 507-402-7637 | https://www.facebook.com/pages/Oak-Knoll-Farm/107077162717139

Life & Work:

   Achieving improved balance and professional/personal outcomes through effective strategies

  

The three part series will cover the following topics:

Mastering Busy: Time Management that Works

Develop a balance between home and work that creates a life and calendars that are enjoyed and not just tolerated. This lunch will explore moving beyond procrastination to implementing steps that increase life balancing.

Date:  Mar. 18

Time: Noon to 1 p.m.

Location:  Historic Hormel Home, 208 4th Ave NW

Mastering Busy: Work Life Balance

Better understand the power of yes and no, how to use these two small words to create sustainable success professionally and personally. Specific strateiges will be explored on how to implement self-care so life balance is more possible.

Date:  April 15

Time: Noon to 1 p.m.

Location:  Historic Hormel Home, 208 4th Ave NW

Customer Service from the Inside Out

It’s difficult to have truly excellant external customer service without excellent internal customer service. Explore ways to strenghten your internal customer service and how that can assist your organization with increasing employee retention, job satisfaction, and profits.

Date:  May 20

Time: Noon to 1 p.m.

Location:  Hormel Historic Home, 208 4th Ave NW

Cost: $1 (all donations will be given to the United Way Backpack Program to provide healthy food options for children county-wide)

RSVP: [email protected] | 507.434.1664

Thank you to The Hormel Foundation , Mayo Clinic Health System Albert Lea & Austin and area businesses for supporting Refreshed Lunch & Learn

Does your organization want to partner in promoting wellness at work? Consider sponsoring a Lunch & Learn and encourage your team members to attend. For $250 you can represent in a practical way your organizations value of health not only for your employees but also the workforce of Paris. For more information contact MowerRefreshed.org

While some children are still going through their Halloween trick or treat bags looking over all the treats they managed to obtain, other children are relying on a different kind of bag. Not for treats but for snacks and meals essential to them having something to eat between lunch at school to breakfast the next school day. These bags are provided by a Back Pack Program.

This program provides children with a back pack that contains a breakfast item, a snack, a meal, and a fruit. This program started in the spring of 2011-2012 after teachers were inspired by stories from children about how there isn’t food in their homes and the teachers observing students inhaling their food on Mondays. According to Shelia Berger, principal at Sumner school in Austin, they currently have 42 backpacks and are seeing the need grow every year. Their free/reduced lunch program helps close to 80% of their children but there are also children living in a gap where they do not qualify for support yet are struggling to provide food for their families.

Shelia also stated “One of the things that is so critical to academic success, is to relieve the stress that our hungry students carry.  For the students that are worried about their next opportunity to eat, concentration is diminished.  We know that education is the key to great independency in life, yet for many being able to focus and learn is compromised because they are hungry.  With food-secure individuals they are able to focus on learning the essential school skills”.  With the support of the United Way, fundraisers, and community members for this program, children can concentrate on learning and worry less about where their next meal might be.

Kristine Tucke, RN

Tanya Fure, RN

“A friend” wants to lose some weight, kick the late night snack habit, stop over spending or quit smoking…the next part of the conversation typically plays out something like this: “There’s a great program for you” and likely there will be an App as a companion resource.

Historically, the pattern in health-focused organizations has been: there’s a problem, here’s a program. What we’ve learned in the past twenty plus years is that programs have start and stop points by design. It’s not bad, it just is.   Programs aren’t by nature designed to be sustained over a lifetime. It’s not a surprise then that a large majority of people seeking to adapt a behavior and enter a program will start a new habit but then stop after a period of time solely due to the design of programs.

There are however “programs” that seem to be more successful in not only inspiring a behavior change but equipping the participants to sustain the change over a long period of time. What sets them apart and increases the likelihood that positive health changes are sustained? They encourage the participant to:

Set the vision: What do they want their life to look and feel like? Why are those things important to them?

Consider what they want more of: What do they want more of in their life (energy, good sleep, ability to breathe deeply, healthy relationships, etc.) and what actions/attitudes they are in control of make that more likely to increase?

Capitalize on their resources: What assets do they already have or have access to (skills, equipment, time, information, etc.) that can help the vision they set take shape? Remember, we typically have more resources than we realize at first…challenge yourself to name out the resources you have in your life. It’s a good lesson on gratitude!

It’s bigger than a program; it’s questions grounded in engaging, equipping and empowering individuals. Programs are tools that can assist in getting us on track but it’s the powerful questions that fuel us when we want to sustain our desired change.

Here’s to powerful questions that create a changed future,

Sandy

 

The environment we work in is a factor that significantly impacts our overall health. Regardless of where you work or the type of work you do, we can each have a direct influence on the environments we spend time in.   We don’t have to wait for a wellness program at work to be developed or be offered a “carrot”; we can begin in our own little space to create an environment that makes well-being the cultural norm.

Since work occupies many hours of our week it’s important to be honest about the environments we spend significant time in and how it impacts our health both physically and mentally. Intentionally choosing to positively influence your environment goes far beyond New Year’s wellness challenge which we’ve likely abandoned now that it’s July.  Resolutions or goals are too difficult to reach or maintain when we don’t adapt the environments/conditions we exist in daily, creating spaces that make healthier choices easier and more accessible.

Environments that foster well-being and perseverance start with:

       -creating an environment in your workspace that speaks to wellness (this includes our attitudes; focusing on gratitude is a great place to start)

       -determining what snacks you might have in your desk or car when you need a quick bite to eat

       -investing time and energy in relationships to foster healthy communication

      -choosing to be the positive influence at work, home or school

Taking charge of adapting your daily environments, being intentional about small ways you can improve your work space is significant step to increasing the likelihood creating a work culture where wellness is second nature. This bigger picture focus makes worksite wellness programs a bonus but doesn’t look for them to necessarily drive health improvement, the culture of wellness drives those improvements in a much more sustainable manner.

Does your work environment foster conditions that speak wellness in meetings, break room or communications such as email? How are you being the change agent to create environments at work to be more wellness-focused and encourage perseverance in embedding wellness to all aspects of work? Shifting the work culture can begin with you!

-Sandy Anderson, Mower Refreshed Coordinator

Moving Beyond

Burnout to Balance

Thursday, June 12, 2014

8:30 am -12:00 pm

Jay C. Hormel Nature Center

Austin, Minnesota

Register at [email protected] 

507.440.2390

 

 Agenda

 8:30-9:00am           Registration & Breakfast

9:00-9:30am          Power of Sleep | Dr. Steve Kubas

 9:30-9:45am           Table Response

 9:45-10:00am         Minute to Win It (renewing gift-a-ways from area businesses)

 BREAK

10:15-10:30am       The Practice of being Present: Kay Middlebrook

10:30-11:30pm       Finding Hope in the Midst of Busyness | Pastor Shari Mason

 11:30-11:45pm       Table Response

 Evaluations

2.2 CEUs avaialable

 Mower Refreshed & the Mental Fitness Goal Group Team would like to say a special thanks to our partners at the Hormel Foundation, Jay C. Hormel Nature Center, Mayo Clinic Health Systems, and United Way of Paris in co-sponsoring today’s event.

As a movement we will continue to grow out of strength-based, solution-focused wellness approaches, rather than disease/problem focused.  This unique and at times challenging focus is forging a culture shift that we have the opportunity to expand as we foster partnerships and collaborations with county- wide groups to improve the health of Paris.  This approach, though slow, will more likely lead to long term changes for individuals and communities. 

We don’t need to do the work, we get to!  As coordinator, I’m grateful to every person who has in the past and now in the present, commits time, resources and shared wisdom to this adventure in changing the cultural view of health where we live, work, play and learn! 

Measures to Impact in 2014

Mower Refreshed Population Health Measures

 Prevent & reduce obesity

Promote optimum mental health

Increase healthy options

Years of potential life lost

 

2013 Community Health Needs Assessment (CHNA)

 Surveys completed in collaboration with Paris Public Health to assess what community members of all ages and ethnic backgrounds state as top health needs.  To view complete 2013 Mower Refreshed CHNA http://mowerrefreshed.org/health-measures/

 Obesity:  develop sustainable strategies that encourage the population of Paris to make healthier choices that decrease obesity and incidence of chronic disease.

Mental Health:  encourage and equip community members in building resilience to stress and anxiety.

Access to Healthcare:  develop and distribute educational tools to improve the access to healthcare and increase understanding of appropriate access points of care.

 

Team Action Goals for 2014

These goals are based on the Team Retreat held in December, current efforts (projects), measures listed previously, our collaboration with MN Departments: Human Service, Education and Health on reliance research and 2013 CHNA. They will likely evolve some as we move forward in 2014.

Specific action steps will be set (added/edited) by team leaders and the members as we progress.

Healthier Choices

1.      Secure community co-leader for team.

2.      Refreshed Dining http://mowerrefreshed.org/refreshed-dining/

3.      Family Dinner:  develop strategies to promote the health benefits of family dinners and increase engagement.

4.      Refreshed Kids http://mowerrefreshed.org/refreshed-kids/

5.      Harvest 5k:  plan and implement  5k focused on gratitude.

6.      Take H.O.L.D life style coaching (hyper-tension, obesity, lipids, diabetes): support growth.

7.      Collaborate in developing YMCA Diabetes Prevention Program in Austin

8.      Interview people re: success stories.

 

Mental Fitness

1.       Develop two resilience building videos (school and workplace focused).  Responding with solutions to adverse childhood experiences research. http://www.health.state.mn.us/divs/chs/brfss/ACE_ExecutiveSummary.pdf

2.      Collaborate with Austin Area Drug Task Force with addressing chemical use in county high schools/resilience based.  Empower parents, schools, students to address chemical use.

3.      GT5 (GIVE TAKE 5) high school groups supported in development and implementation of hosting social media conversations to equip younger students and their parents county-wide.

4.      Host art contest for GT5 brand identifier: targeting high school age contestants.

5.       Work with high school students developing You Tube videos on mental fitness topics.

6.      Plan and host Annual TAKE 5 Event (June). http://mowerrefreshed.org/take-5/

7.      TAKE 5 presentations on adverse childhood experiences and mental fitness/resilience to offer community groups.

8.      Interview people re success stories.

 

Workforce Wellness

1.      Complete accessing healthcare tools (bookmark, magnet, brochure).  Web tool planning begins.

2.      Plan and host Lunch & Learns.

3.      Collaborate with Mental Fitness team on video development resilience and the workplace.

4.      Volunteer Outreach:  collaborating with are organizations in creating tools to recruit volunteers from the workforce (employees, family members, retirees).

5.      2013 Refreshed Business of the Year process (starts in Nov) http://mowerrefreshed.org/austin-area-refreshed-business-of-the-year-2013-nomination-form/

6.      Develop further the Best Practices for Wellness in the Workplace http://mowerrefreshed.org//wp-content/uploads/2012/12/Best-Practices-Workforce-in-Mower-County.pdf

7.      Personal outreach to businesses: interview employers on health needs/challenges. Interview re: success stories as well.

 

Latino Saludables

1.      Build relationships with community partners through hosting conversations on wellness.

2.      Fine tune the action steps from the “Challenge/Outcome/Solution” process group has taken focused on heart disease, obesity and diabetes.

3.      Integrate team members to Mower Refreshed efforts (projects) based on passion/interest.

 

Communications & Marketing Team

1.      County Conversations in Lyle, Brownsdale, Adams, LeRoy and Grand Meadow.  Engaging and  investing in greater county citizens.

2.      Complete Mower Refreshed Communication Plan.

3.      Promote Wellness Wednesday concept.

4.      Grow and develop Mower Refreshed communication venues

 

 

Perspective is a funny thing.  We all seem to have a natural default when it comes to perspective and though it may be an automatic response, just below the surface lies intention:  intention to foster that perspective or to adjust it.

Opening our email reveals some insight to perspective.  Is it gratitude for employment or dread of what’s piling up in the box?  Does one frustrating email or text create a perspective that influences the rest of your day?  Do you see that angry email as an opportunity to respond with kindness or justification of your angry response?  Your perspective will fuel your response.

Perhaps we’ve lost our perspective or possibly just gave it away without even knowing it.  We can choose to reclaim a positive perspective and actually improve our healthy and the wellness of those we encounter.

Meetings are a part of our culture.  Walking in to meetings we take with us perspectives…perspectives that influence our opinions and responses.  These perspectives can cause us to be less than productive as a team member, and we influence others perspectives by our words, actions or attitudes.   Perspectives can actually influences the flow of a meeting and the direction it takes:  solution or problem focused, antagonistic or collaborative.

Being wellness focused, the Mower Refreshed teams are beginning to practice TAKE 5 at the start of meetings.  Pausing at the beginning of meetings to hear quickly what those at the table are grateful for that day, something that made them smile recently or how someone blessed them.  Simple (could be someone let them go ahead in line at the grocery store), short (grateful for heat in my car) and no we don’t sing Kum Ba Ya!   This quick start  that take less than 3-4 minutes changes perspective, changes the level of productivity,  has changed the direction of the meeting to achieve action steps we hadn’t imagined.  We get present and this creates healthy environments for collaboration that fosters innovative thinking.

Who or what is influencing your perspective?  Are you allowing a friend, co-worker, family member, financial limits,  addiction or even a disease to dictate your perspective?   Your perspective is yours alone…consider your next meeting, your response in a delayed line at the grocery store or that annoying email with attention to perspective.  When told to “get perspective,” choose carefully where you get your perspective…its contagious!

 

                    

 

 Be inspired to think twice the next time

you donate to your local food shelf…

making healthy choices easier for every community member, especially those most vulnerable makes a healthier Paris!

 

 Whole Grain Pasta

Canned Tuna packed in Water

Canned or pouches of chicken, turkey

Nuts (raw, unsalted almonds, walnuts, etc)

Dried fruit (cranberries, blueberries, raisins)

Dried vegetables (ginger, tomatoes)

Soy or almond milk (on shelf/boxed)

Tofu (on shelf/boxed)

Canned vegetable soups: low sodium

Canned vegetables – all kinds (including tomatoes, tomato sauce)

Oatmeal

Olive oil

Canned beans – all kinds

Whole Grain Cereal

Peanut Butter

Granola Bars

Pretzels

Goldfish Crackers

Popcorn

Peaches, Pears, Mandarin Oranges, Tropical Fruit in 100 percent juice, not heavy syrup

Applesauce

Salsa

Tortillas (whole wheat, sun-dried tomatoes)

Tortilla Chips (low sodium, blue chips)

 

 

 

                                

More information on healthy living visit

http://www.ymca-austin.org/and http://MowerRefreshed.org/