 All right, we're going to go ahead and get started. That is 10.30, so welcome to webinar Wednesday brought to you by the Family Community Wellness Program Area. I'm Marie Wittstein, and I'm very pleased that Meagan Dietrich is our presenter for today. Meagan is a specialist and director of FNEP and Family Nutrition Program with NDSU Extension. The topic for today is Policy, Systems, and Environment, Change Outreach, What, Why, and How. So thank you very much, Meagan, for being here. I will be recording the webinar and putting that out on our Ag Info Center after we're done. So I'll hand it over to Meagan. Well, thank you, Marie. The first thing I would like everyone, I see a few of you have answered this question, but if you could go ahead and answer the question on the poll, how much do you know about policies, systems, and environmental change approaches, which we call PSCs? So it looks like, oh, here we go. But bear with me, I don't use Skype for Business as much as we use Zoom over in our area, but I'm hoping that this will go smoothly. So it looks like it's, I guess it's good that no one knows everything and could be presenting this webinar, otherwise I'd probably say go for it. We, some don't, it's learning about the acronym, others, you started to incorporate it. We have done some trainings on the FDW side, introducing some of the ideas and the concepts. I really think transitioning into family and community wellness, that kind of speaks to looking at some of these broader outreach approaches too. So we're kind of slowly starting to move into that direction of integrating some of these new approaches with some of our more traditional programming. So it helps me know what slides I need to focus on and what slides I can breeze over. But the success of this is going to really depend on interaction from all of you as much as it is on my presentation. So I really hope that everyone feels open to either open up your mic and share something or to go ahead and use the chat box to either type in questions or, you know, respond to some of the things that we're going through. All right, here we go. So I did keep the title slide in just because I think that, you know, extending knowledge, changing lives really does speak to, again, that broader impact sometimes that we're looking for when we're considering incorporating some of these PSCs into our programming and outreach. So learning, bear with me. I just want everyone, so sometimes when I start with this PSC conversation, I get a lot of like, oh, just one more thing. I know we all have such big plates full of a lot of different things, but I really hope that you come away from this conversation today. We've, like I said, we've had some different conversations about PSC, but I really hope you come away from this conversation, feeling energized and really feeling like this is something you could incorporate and partner with others on and, you know, something that would be really beneficial to your community, but at the same time, it's not big new heavy lifts that we're asking you to do in your communities. So take a deep breath in and breathe out. So does anyone know what this is? Has anyone seen this? So this is the spectrum of health. So this is something that's used pretty commonly in public health areas. So when, the reason I am talking to you today about policy systems environmental change is not because I have a public health degree, by any means, I'm pretty strong community nutrition person. That's what my recent experience are in, but eight plus years ago when I took the position as director of the family nutrition program, it happened at the same time that there was a large legislation called the Healthy Hungry Free Kids Act, or probably nutrition reauthorization. So it's the reauthorization bill that really changed the school meals program. So I'm sure everyone heard about that. Some people were happy about it, some weren't happy about it, but it was this major overhaul of school meals. One of the changes, one of the things in that authorization bill that changed our program was it caught on funding. So some of you also might remember, we used to have a pretty quick plan for FNP, used to be quite a bit bigger. The other thing it changed was that it changed our approaches. So we always had a very strong direct education approach with FNP and we still do. Direct education is still a really important part of the work we do and in our impacts, but it did change and required to be mandated through a kind of a slow gradual movement towards more integrated approaches. And so it's kind of that integration of direct education that feels based training, which is really our traditional work we did and these new policy systems and environmental change approaches. So I came in right as this bill is coming in as a new coordinator at the end of 2010 and I didn't have any clue what it took me a lot of, and I'm still learning, but it took me a long time to kind of figure out what PSC looks like. So the reason I'm showing this is it's a different way of kind of showing the levels of what we're trying to reach with PSCs and then with some of our other work. So at the bottom is strengthening individual knowledge and skills, which is a lot of the traditional work we're doing in promoting that community education and then now up educating providers, that's a lot of the train-the-trainer work. So that's, we do a lot of that as well as, again, fostering coalitions and networks. The PEOC stands for policy. That makes a lot of people nervous because they're like, oh, we can't do policy work or we're not supposed to be lobbying and doing some of that. So I'm not asking you today to go out and start doing policy work, but just to understand how policy work is a part of PSCs and is a part of kind of that broad level impact. And I'll share some examples of that. Actually, one of the things that we're working on right now up with the Vermont Band of Chippewa is looking at walkability and connectivity in their communities and something that's come up and it's come up in other tribal communities. It's a policy that wouldn't necessarily be apparent in that policy of animal control policies. So if you've ever been up in Bell Corridor, even down in four eighths, I mean, you might notice that there are more dogs wandering around and that became a safety issue. So just because you might be changing the environment and making these great scales and forming walking clubs and really kind of encouraging those types of things in your communities, if there's not policies in place that impact the safety of walking, it's not gonna really matter. So policy is really a big thing that could, that's impactful for sustainability for some of the changes or the big impact you wanna make. And we can think, that might be a school wellness policy to some of the bigger policies that I would say municipal policy to state policy. One of the P stands for doing that. I'm not gonna systems, the S stands for systems and that tends to be the thing that people get the most caught up in. Like, what does this mean? I always just think of it as like a norm, like a change in norms. Whereas policies are usually written, systems changes don't have to be written and systems changes often also require, a combination of policy and environmental changes. We're not gonna get too caught up and I'll go through the acronym and what each piece is, but the takeaway is there's no right way to do PSDs. You don't have to start with an environmental change and then move on to a policy change to get the systems changed. It's not really how it works. It's much more unique and holistic and things just happen organically kind of blow these along. So like I said, we're not gonna get caught up in the acronym but that's what it stands for. So the systems thing is just the broader piece. And when we go into, I'm gonna talk a little bit about some big public health successes and we'll kind of see that systems piece. The environment piece, I think, so these systems for environment, I think this might be the easiest thing for us to kind of wrap our heads around because it's very physical. I mean, we see how our environment shape our health behaviors. And so the next step for us as extension agents is do we have opportunities to work or help our communities improve those environments, make the healthy choice, easy choice to get people closer to those health behaviors that we're teaching about in our classes or sharing at community events. So kind of the difference as we think about when we're talking about in the different environments. People do a lot of their, spend a lot of their time in day to day. So here's, I think with environment, it's really easy to show some really great pictures. The picture in the middle is from Lake Agassi that's up in Grand Forks. And you can see how like, what a great, like, you know, it's just a beautiful display. So not only do the food look appetizing, they're not just slapping a spoonful of peaches on your plate, it's nice little containers, although more expensive and may contribute to food waste, really has shown to be an enticement for kids to grab. It's easier than going through the line. And then the, you know, look what was grown in our school garden. That's a huge one. That's research really bears out that that helps kids get more excited about eating fruits and vegetables as if they either participated in the growing or know who did. The other one, the right of that is, let me see, in that trip, so Linda's on. So Linda, you probably recognize that Lake Agassi picture that I used. Well, that's Linda Custer from Grand Forks who shared that. And then that buffet table, does anyone wanna hop up in their mic and share what, why the buffet table might be an environmental change? It's from one of Sue Millender's outreach efforts or you can type it, oh, Nicole. Is it like a church that changed the type of foods that they were serving? Yes, or a function. Right, and then there's one more thing about not just the types of foods. Did they kind of make it a rule that they would only serve certain types of food? Right, exactly. So there is a policy in place, but also in that picture, the healthy stuff is first. So that's something that's the order of the, yeah, thanks Bob, the order of the food matters. I mean, we've found, and that's through, behavioral economics and all these other things. We know people will pile on, if people run out of room on their plate for the less healthy things, which there are I think some bars way, way, way at the end, but it's just our natural inclination. And again, research has borrowed out that that's what people do. So that's something from, and you mentioned you, you picked out Nicola's first 15 years of life efforts, and that incorporates, there's some direct education and outreach, there's some policy work, there's some kind of systems change built in there, and then there's these environmental pieces. There's signage, reminding people about healthy behaviors, and then this really intentional approach to encourage healthy eating during their different celebrations and fellowship. So the other thing, like included those stairs, because there's a lot of environmental changes we don't even think about, those stairs, I was thinking of stepping on, stairs like these are much easier to see because of the way that they're different colors. So even something like that can be an environmental change. So if there's stairs that are in an area where a lot of seniors use and they have the opportunity to take that change, that would be something that thing. So that's the environmental change. Again, I feel like probably the thing that we do the most in when we're working with PSCs, we do kind of start with environmental changes and then it branches out, because those tend to be the ones people recognize the most. So that's the acronym, Policy Systems Environments, PSE. Does anyone have any questions or comments, things they've done or used in their programming that is PSE? Hearing none, I will move on. So this is an interactive. I'm going to pull up the whiteboard. I'm having fun with all these different things on Skype. Okay, so brainstorm what you think the top 10 achievements according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the CDC, happen in achievements in public health in the past century. I'm gonna pull up the, oh there, okay, I guess we can do it that way. Thanks Molly. I'm just gonna do the whiteboard, but why don't we just go ahead and type it into the area? We'll do the whiteboard for something else. So Molly, clean water, vaccines, seat belts, anyone else? You people are typing. Floor-dated water, good one. Food safety, yes. Oh, hi Karen. Food labeling, yep. See, did we get, I'm surprised, I don't think we saw the biggest one, which is always the one I think about. Oh, reduction of tobacco use. Because I think we wanna see now, I feel like we almost take for granted that smoking is just not, now I know vaping has started to increase in popularity, but when I was in my 20s, I know some of us when we were in our 20s and I mean, smoking seemed like it was everywhere. And now that's been a huge, huge thing that's happened in public health and all the other things mentioned. And I just, I bring this up, I think it's important to think about how these things happened and all the different factors that went into the success of these public health agreements. Obviously policies, we think of tobacco use policies were huge with that. And when I talk about norms or systems, the system is now set up to be a non-smoking system. Really, you can't, there's not a lot of places you can smoke these days. There is some education. I mean, there is smoking cessation, there is education incorporated into youth programming, which was very successful and an important component. And then obviously the environmental changes was another one. So, seatbelts, that was one of the ones that was mentioned or no, let's go to food safety. So what are some, just brainstorm, what would be maybe some policies, if you can think of any policies or systems or environmental things that might have contributed to improvements in food safety. You can either type or you can open up your mic. FDA regulations, right? You think even the sneeze guards, that's an environmental change that, I don't know if I would go to a salad bar if they didn't have a sneeze guard and you just take it for granted, but that hasn't always been in place. So what about you say, well, these are big things. What is our role in these? And what are our next public health needs or community health needs that, we might be able to take some, to do some outreach in. And really also looking at this extension helped with a lot of these things. Extension, both for education and some other partnering finds and does from heart disease and stroke. Definitely we had input on that, I'm safer in healthier food, healthier mothers and babies. So we've been doing this. I'm sure there's probably extension materials you can find on Florida water. I don't know, but certainly those types of things are what extensions always take in a role in. I'm not gonna get to, this is another thing we show quite a bit is the socio-ecological model. And again, the reason we're talking about PSDs is it tends to the more of these circles we can impact the greater the impact is in the more sustained and when we're talking about gold standard of long-term behavior change and population health, it's really trying to hit all these different factors. So impact, impact, impact. We talk a lot about impact, public value, those types of things in extension. There's a lot of factors in impact. And each of the different things we do include these factors in a different way. For PSDs, they hit each one of them in some way, shape or form. So when we talk about reach, that's the number of people. It's also especially for people in, if you're like, well, I'm not ever gonna have a big reach because I live in a more real less populated community, reach can also be a percentage of your audience. So if you're saying, hey, in my community, 60% of the school-aged youth are in 4-H programming, that's a huge reach versus using a number of kids, which compared to bigger counties might not seem as impactful. Frequency is just that dosage piece, all the specific how many classes can go to and how long those classes are. Frequency is also what we like to call exposure or kind of that messaging, that dosage. So back to all of those different environments that people are making health behavior choices in. If you have a fruit and vegetable message or environmental prompt in each of those environments, so if someone goes to work and there's fruits and vegetables in the break room free and there's messages reminding people, fruits and vegetables are good to act. And then they go to the grocery store and there's encouraging the grocery store and fruits and vegetables. And then you go home and you've maybe changed your environment to encourage even more fruits and vegetables. You're getting that message more frequently and you're getting that exposure more frequently. And then effectiveness, that's something that's our research-based, evidence-based interventions we do. Effectiveness is also about pertinence or timeliness. So we can have a great intervention and bring it to something, bring it to a group. But if you didn't do a needs assessment or if they're not ready for it, then it's not gonna be particularly effective. Thinking about messaging. So let's say you're driving and you see a bus wrap talking about grab a fruit and vegetable for a snack. I don't know if that's a very effective message at that point in time. Maybe if it's about not texting and driving, the effectiveness would go up. So another really important factor to consider for impact. And then finally, collaboration. And I'll talk about it a little bit later, but PSE, collaboration and coalitions and partnerships are really key for PSEs. So if you're not, if you're like, I don't even know what to start with PSEs, the place to start with PSEs is to look at your partnership. Do you have a community coalition? Do you have a wellness committee at your school? Because PSEs are the network we do on our own and I think sometimes, some of our traditional extension work, it's where the show runner, we do most of it. Yes, our partners might provide space or help recruit for people to show up, but definitely like that's, to do PSEs you need a coalition and that's not taken away from your efforts. There's no sharing the successes and no way to take away from your efforts. But that's always another important thing to keep in mind that that collective impact is really important. Mollye chaired, it took years to get back to free parks and to change the concession stands at the park with health options. The impact, they have over 900 hockey games a year and at those hockey games, they're getting healthier options. And I know Karen Armstrong's also done some healthy concession work up in Roulette County and it's kind of the same thing. It's a slow process and it's a slow roll and I think sometimes you really feel like, oh, this is going nowhere, but it is. So I am going to not go through this slide because it's really, you can go back and so these are just some different actual examples I've heard a lot of folks say. I want an example of what this would be. You know, and it kind of takes from the direct education up through the policy. This is the thing anyone who's ever heard me talk about PSE, I always bring this up because some states when they transitioned to doing more PSE for their FNP programming really did away with direct education. And I think that direct education, that skills-based training is necessary. So multi-component interventions are really, you know, the most beneficial research has shown that that combination is really impactful. So if you teach a kid to swim but they don't have a pool to swim in and it's not safe and they don't have swim clothes, it's not going to matter. And vice versa, if you build the state pool, I think that's in Welliston, but no one knows how to swim or, you know, the hours aren't accessible and all these other pieces, it's not going to matter. So we really, I think it's really both sides. Don't I, what I've learned from my experience with PSE and really it's, these are all important ingredients. And as, you know, our group, the specialists and leadership is really trying to provide some support with all these different, in all these different areas. I'll touch, I talked a little bit about partnerships and coalitions, it's first for a reason because again, I don't know how you could do PSEs without some strong partnerships and coalitions and be successful and have it be sustainable. So the directions, as I said, there's no, there's no right or wrong way to do PSEs. You know, there are toolkits, there's technical assistance kind of support you along, but each situation is unique. I think you could talk to Molly about, about the concept and stands and the tobacco free parks and her work on the park were there. And, you know, she would probably agree and say, yep, you know, you can take some of the toolkits that are out there and then figure out what's going to work for your community. So did anyone, I hope, I hope people got a chance at least to answer this article. It's pretty recent, it's from the 23rd. A big issue right now in North Dakota and it's a big issue that actually our legislature and the governor's office agree on. So that's kind of amazing. But a study came out from the Real Groceries Initiative and they've been doing a lot of work and we have extension plans. Andrea, you on that? One of our, I think Andrea's on that committee or is a Jody, it might be Jody. So anyways, it's a committee of a bunch of different sectors who are working towards this issue. Jody, you believe? Yeah, I believe it is Jody. So I mean, that's pretty insane. And in the last five years, look at how many groceries, we've almost lost over 30 grocery stores in our North Dakota cities with population of 2100 or less. So there is a resolution that the Senate passed to study it. So that's saying that it's important for the legislature and like I said, we've heard a lot from the governor's office also very concerned about that. Cause if you think about the health and vibrancy of our smaller mid-sized communities, grocery stores are really often in the heart of those communities. So a lot of people are concerned about this and we think it's important for extension for us to figure out how can we help? What can we do to help the situation in some of our smaller towns? Does anyone have, does anyone live in a town where they don't have a grocery store or lost their grocery store? It's not looking like anyone does. But I mean, it is, you know, I've heard it anecdotally and we know that it is something that's been coming up. So case study, I'm gonna have someone open. Who wants to, I want someone to read the case study. Not me, but you can get my voice. Can someone read this? I'm not against Colleen Ames, so. I can read it. Can you hear me? Yes, I can hear you. Thank you. Okay. A1 Foods, the grocery store in Nice, North Dakota, population 2200, has been struggling for a few years. The costs of products have gone up because the store is not on a main supply route and the owners have struggled to make a profit. While the owners want to provide items like fresh produce, the cost combined with product loss due to perishability and fewer buyers often means there is no profit on those items or even a loss. While community members say they want a local grocery store, they were sad to lose their only cafe a few years ago when the owners retired. More and more, they are traveling 80 miles to the nearest city in another county to shop at a box store. Customers have been less than happy with a variety of products, quality of produce and all around look of the store. It appears in acts like a dying store. Nice quality of, let's see. Nice has a new- Sorry, it's the name of the community. I just realized that's goofy. Nice has a newly formed community coalition made up of a local teacher, a priest. I can't see behind your picture, but I think it says a stay-at-home mom. Oh, I'm moving your picture here. Stay-at-home mom or parent and the mayor. Besides farming, Nice has a processing manufacturing plant nearby. Many of the workers, some of whom are immigrants, live in a smaller community adjacent to the plant and aren't as connected to the tight knit Nice community. So thinking about those factors and thinking about your role as an extension agent and maybe some of you have already done work in this realm. Question one to think about, what are the community assets characteristics that can benefit this situation? And you can either type it in or open up your mic and share. I can, I'll go back. So community assets, characteristics that are beneficial to this. The coalition, thanks, Nicole. The close knit community, yes. 80 miles, that's a long, that's not 20 miles. That's a long way to go. Big employer nearby, good. So these are all really great answers. And definitely all things that can be considered when trying to come up with a solution that might work for this community before they lose their grocery store. So this is being very proactive in what can we do to help the situation from going down further. What are some community needs in this situation? Kind of on the flip side. Are some of the needs or the concerns? Oh, yeah, thanks, Karen. Farming background may make it easier to sell the bi-local concept. Fresh produce is a concern. And from a variety, so the customers are concerned that the produce doesn't look that great. And then the store is concerned because it's expensive to get in produce and then no one buys it or it sits there and then it looks worse and worse. And I mean, I've talked to actually the owner of White Buffalo down in 148s. And he told me that having fresh produce in his store is a zero sum game. Like he hopes to not, he thinks it's important, but he, as often as not, might be losing the money on that. Food store parents, certainly the poor facade. Right, it's not a place people want to go to. So they lost their cafe and their only grocery store is kind of junky. I mean, it's, you know, and I'm sure the owners are working hard and doing the best they can, but it's not necessarily a welcoming place. You know, you think of wanting to go to unless it's a total necessity. What other people, so thinking about this coalition of who are their coalition members? What, who else could be on that coalition? So there's a teacher, a priest, you know, a state home parent, the mayor. Who are some others that might be employs from the new nearby plant, right? Oh, good, Karen, I love that idea. Promote prepared sandwiches for a quick meal as cafe is not available. Rule people, farmers, right. Get a farmer on that local grower is yes. There's one specific person on that coalition I'm looking for. Community members, yep, from the adjacent town, yes, because there's other towns around. I mean, it's 80 miles, there's other towns around. Extension agent, yay, Marie. Extension agent, Andrew, yep, okay, now, yep, now you're all getting it. Yep, the store owner, certainly. I mean, there are all people who are invested in the success of the store. It's nice that the mayor is involved because mayors always see things that, you know, community members might be seeing, good. And finally, how can, how can extension help? And this might not just be with PSCs. I mean, there might be, you know, is it a certification or are there other, like how can extension help this concern, this community issue? Facilitate discussion, good. Shop Healthy, Stock Healthy. And Shop Healthy, Stock Healthy is an intervention. It's a PSC that was developed at the University of Missouri. Some of us have been trained in it. It's quite complex, but it does touch on a lot of, you know, everything from engaging the coalition to working with the store owner to make it look better, to really doing what you can to, to attract this discussion. And it's really back that whole, you know, facilitating discussion between, you know, some of the different, even if people from the community or from the plants don't necessarily want to be on the coalition, maybe there's other ways you could get some feedback from those people, you know? And maybe there's ways you could, you know, you could work with that plant to, you know, put up some signs or encourage them to, you know, go in and use the phone. Maybe if there's an immigrant, you know, you could work with the store owner. Maybe there's some, you know, specific to their, you know, nationality or ethnicity, you know, some foods that, that might be of interest. I think it's up in Grafton, but one of the best Mexican restaurants, you know, I think it's up in Grafton. I think part of that is probably due to, you know, they have a population, you know, population of some, some farm workers that are, you know, from Mexico, and so they have a really good Mexican restaurant up there. Network with other grocery stores is great. Yeah, but really, sometimes our role is just starting as that catalyst, you know, getting more people together and we're really good at that in extension. So we might not necessarily know like exactly the next steps, but the first step are, you know, that needs assessment, looking at the problem, looking at what's good in the community, looking at, you know, where there's some gaps and how, you know, everyone can pitch in. Intentionally start with the assets question, because I think sometimes when we think about DSCs, people especially with environmental changes, we get really concerned that we're gonna insult our partners or insult our sites or insult our communities, you know, by, by coming in and saying, this is something you need or, wow, you're, you know, your school cafeteria is not that great. It's like, what can we do? And so it's really important that we come in and start with the, start with the positives. Say like, hey, you know, your wellness coalition is doing some great work and really trying to, you know, make some improvements. How can I help? So it's not taking a, you know, that negative approach, but really looking at all these great things that are already going on, and that a lot of you are already doing and making those. Any other comments or questions on this rural grocery issue? So if extension were to take this on as a statewide effort and then as a, you know, county community effort, what do we need? What do you need? Like, what are our next steps? I mean, we want, we're already at the table. Jody is a part of, you know, part of those conversations through her involvement in the rural grocery initiative. I mean, all in all, that's been talking to Lori who is in charge of that. You know, I've been talking to our hunger coalition lead. And, you know, so we've been having these conversations when it's too, you know, the governor's office about it, but I think it's, you know, we need to know you all are, you know, the agents are the ones doing a lot of the work. So I think it's always important to keep that in mind. Like, you know, what do you need to help? You know, if this is an issue in your community, how can we show that extension is up at the table? Don't think about that. Don't really, oh, maybe I'm, if this shows, then I'm going to be amazed. Is this showing? Is my video showing? I think it is, it's a cowboy GRIT and kind of it looks like it's showing there. Is it really small? Yes. Yeah. Okay. Rather than make you read, watch a really tiny video. As I think we mentioned, we're having some challenges with videos in Skype. I'm going to send it to you. GRIT is an awesome video about in Cody, Nebraska, they lost their grocery store. And together with their school and with an entrepreneurial group at their school, you know, they have a program, it sounds really like a 4-H program, but to build up leadership and entrepreneurial skills with kids, with, you know, school-aged, middle school and high school kids. And together, they all came together with a lot of other people in the community and they have their own community store. And it's run, you know, by volunteers largely, but the school, like the kids, work in it. You know, so they're learning a lot of entrepreneurial skills and money management skills. And then the whole town has really come around, you know, come behind the circle seed market and people shop there and they do events there. And it's really, you know, reinvigorated the town who lost their grocery store. And now they've done something creative and unique to fill that gap. So it's a really fun video to watch and, you know, may get some juices flowing for if you have communities that, you know, have some similar struggles. So I apologize, I will share that as a link. I think it's important to just remember, like, that might not be, that was nothing I had ever thought of. I think Lynette mentioned, hey, I think there's a place in Nebraska where there's a grocery store at a school, you know, and then I looked it up and, yeah, I mean, so it's things like that, thinking outside the box to, you know, come up with these solutions. That's a lot of what PSD is about. You know, it's not the Papach programs. It's not, you know, here's your curriculum and, you know, go through lessons one through six. It's really working with your community members and picking up creative solutions and finding where your strengths, your own strengths and experiences and knowledge can contribute. And a lot of times it's the communities you're working in, you're living in. So I think there's that added level of, I don't remember why, oh, I think this is just again, Henry and Holmes, start with partnerships and coalitions. There's a lot of, so I, because of SNAPEd, I feel like I've become a clearinghouse for if there's a toolkit or a needs assessment or, you know, even, I might have it, you know, for a variety of different of, you know, things that might be going on. There's a lot of them out there and a lot of them have passed in front of me. You know, I think really partnerships and coalitions, that's Marie's area and Andrea's area and Jody's area. I mean, we're so fortunate to have the leadership and civic engagement team as part of our game. So happened to all of that because that's a huge and like I said, yes, these are not gonna happen without that ingredient. And this was done a long time ago, but we're all already, you know, this was done, I think, four years ago. And at that time, see, we were still founding consumer sciences. That time, 73% of us were on some sort of coalition that benefits our extension work. And now, you know, advisory councils are really kind of coming back and not gonna do too much with this community engagement because this is, again, more of Marie's area, but just, you know, there are some tricky pieces about, you know, building a good coalition, but really, you know, it's longer lasting and requires less work from you because it's kind of all hands on deck. The change is stronger and more powerful with investments. Center for Rural Health has an engagement toolkit. They have a lot of other good data and information and that's a UND thing that I really have found some really nice pieces in the Center for Rural Health. So go ahead and go and play around in there. So evaluation and reporting is the other thing that I get a lot of questions about. Well, how do we show that we're doing PSEs? Like, you know, with direct education, it's really easy to do surveys. You know, with the other programs we do, it's pretty easy, it's, you know, you survey and you say this to many people went through the program and this is what we're reporting now. PSE is a lot trickier. But luckily with payers, we have a lot of different places we can report PSEs. You can share these great successes and impact statements, success stories and direct activities. So if you're, that's, you know, that's a lot of times people use those for events or articles. What if you're doing something like going to a food pantry and, you know, encourage, you know, doing food demo or something like that, which would be a somewhat of a PSE and that it's, you know, kind of an environmental nudge to try to get people to, you know, take some of the dried beans or other products that, you know, might be healthier and less enticing. And then partnerships and coalitions, that's where I'm seeing a lot of it. And I'm seeing a lot of the PSE work being reported through partnerships and coalitions by FDW agents, not by our FNP team, who's required to, you know, report on on that, but it's being reported in those partnerships and coalitions. And then again, you know, in some of the success stories, those are probably the top three partnerships, coalitions and success stories. So you can look at other people's partnerships and coalitions and success stories and see what they're doing. Another nice thing about, I think, I'm pretty sure, I can see everyone's, but I'm pretty sure you all can see everyone's too. It's not a, there's not really privacy setting on there. The PSE site activities, that's something that only FNP has right now. However, if we do start to move into doing more PSEs without CW, the Kansas pairs team has said that they would do a PSE site activities module for extension, for our extension, which is not as complicated and involved as ours is for FNP, but ours for FNP is targeted or is tailored for the federal stuff we have to report for SNAPED. So it's something to consider. So, I mean, it's hard to be asked to do something and then like, I don't really have a good tool to show the work I'm doing, but it's possible. You know, so that's, you know, we might be having some future conversations. I know I have talked to a few people who said they would be interested in having access to like a, you know, PSE site activities because it really does capture, you know, all the different aspects of that. So something to keep in mind. So I want to wrap up with, I hope this is enough time. I hope everyone at least got a chance to just take a peek at that, reinventing through the traditional senior center in rural areas to attract new generation of individuals. I just came across my email from our departments because Ardith Brunch is in our department, but Jane was really involved in this research. It was done in North Dakota. It was done right, right, Jane. It was all, I had to put it back, but it was all focus groups done in North Dakota. Yep. It was a contract with the Division of Aging Services to conduct this study. And, you know, it's showed some really great information that I think maybe a lot of you might have experienced just by talking to seniors or, but I really, I don't know, I just, when I read this, I was like, oh, there's so many opportunities for extension to, you know, and this is what extension is about, being this research and then figuring out how we can take action to improve our communities. I read something, and Jane, you might know more on this, but that North Dakota seniors are the most likely to be living alone? Yes, that's correct. And that we also have pretty high rates. So we also have social isolation issues, which is probably, you know, somewhat related to that. Is there anything I don't wanna put you on the spot, but is there anything that, you know, as an overview or anything really, you know, from the study that you said that you wanted to share or pull out? You know, other than, you know, the Division of Aging Services really wanted to have this study conducted because they knew they needed to do something with the model of the senior centers that existed today. So they are, I know, meeting with different stakeholders across the state with the study, the stakeholder report that was produced. And really, it is a community effort to change a senior center and kind of take on a new role. So I think that things are in progress in North Dakota to make some changes. I do know that this was shared in South Dakota with some nutrition directors. And there are two communities in Mitchell, South Dakota and Rapid City, South Dakota, that have made major changes to their operations. And they've changed the name. They've changed their policies. They have younger people coming in. They've adopted a lot of the recommendations that were included in the report. So that's pretty exciting to see those kind of changes, but it is a process. That's, thank you. That's really exciting to hear. And also that, you know, I mean, I think that there's definitely opportunities and I'm sure in South Dakota extension was at the table in those communities when they, I mean, I guess their model is a little bit different, but. Yeah, absolutely. But these are the main themes that, you know, so now I hope all of you have either read it or now you've had a chance to kind of go through some of the main themes that came from all these focus groups that this research team did with seniors. And I think, again, I think it was about 50-50. So 50% of the participants were rural. So was, you know, really, it wasn't the urban areas necessarily that they were responding, but it was also, you know, had a good mix of rural on this as well. Yep, there were eight locations in North Dakota and two were Grand Forks and Bismarck, but the others were varying sizes, but it was a good mix of geographically and urban rural. So these are some of that, there's a lot of really great quotes in this study. And I, you know, I can hear my grandmothers, I can hear them in my grandmother's voice. And, you know, one of them, you know, one of the themes was just a negative impression of senior centers. And the quote that I'm in denial, I am not going to a senior center, which Fred was throughout. Like, I'm not old enough to go to a senior center. I mean, you know, my parents went to senior centers. The viability piece also came up, and I suspect there'll be more in the rural sites. It comes from not having enough help. You know, they start off to find the help volunteers and then services go down if you don't have the help and the volunteers. They'd also like to see different offerings. You know, the traditional, you know, some of the traditional things that senior centers might have offered. You know, they're maybe going with a hip. They want to do different things. They want a technology. They want health and nutrition and some physical activity pieces definitely came up. Stepping on would be, you know, I can see stepping on being a great program because that also kind of came up with something that, you know, they were looking at finding out more of. They're not just giving up that as baby boomers. They want to learn more and learn how to do things to belong there for good health. And then another theme is just changing the whole concept of the senior center. I don't want to go to a place where all it is is old people like me. I want to go to a place where there's, you know, people of different ages. And so this is kind of this like rolling out, thinking of new, you know, like what Jane said, they're just totally redoing those centers in Rapid City and in South Dakota. And then this whole clubhouse, I want to go to a clubhouse. I don't want to go to a senior center. So just kind of some of these quotes and these thoughts around what's needed and what's wanted. And this is another quote I pulled from the research study that I really think speaks to really any PSC that we're looking at. There appear to be concerns unique to each senior center location that will require grassroots input and solutions to each center's challenges. You could replace senior center and centers with school, with, you know, any of the locations where, you know, there's some unique situations going on that you might be able to offer some assistance. There's no one-size-fits-all with PSCs. So we will wrap up with another case study. I'm going to ask another person to ask to read through the case study. Does someone who hasn't read or spoken maybe want to read through this case study? I can do it, Megan. Oh, thanks. Despite an aging population, the Flat Rock Senior Center in Flat Rock, North Dakota, population 7,500 county seat for Prairie County has seen a decrease in attendance and participation. Programs are sparsely attended, resulting in fewer volunteers, fewer offerings and shorter hours. Meal participation has even decreased as well as attendance at traditionally popular programs like Bingo. The senior center has a kitchen cafeteria, offices, a classroom, an open space currently being used as temporary storage and a small outdoor park area. The senior center is centrally located by some shops, a place of worship, a park, a head start site, and an elementary school, but not well connected by sidewalks. A recent study in North Dakota highlighted issues of social isolation among seniors, as well as higher rates of obesity than the national average. The senior center director, as well as the Extension Advisory Council see increasing engagement with the community seniors as a need in the community. Thank you, Bob. That's a lot to take in. That's a lot of information about the senior center. So what are the community assets characteristics that can benefit the situation? And then on the flip side, what are some of the challenges? Type it in or open up your mic. Walkability is a challenge, yes. Try adding the kitchen, evolving the youth. Right, there are some opportunities because there's a head start site and an elementary school site close by. So that's definitely an asset and opportunity. I know around here, they usually have the grandparents read to the kids. Right. So they have an adopted grandparent program. Some of them try that. Good, thank you, Reba. So Marie is centrally located. There's outdoor space. So what could we do with the outdoor space? Just think, our gardening, right. Outdoor space for gardening. Put some raised beds that are accessible. There's lots of opportunities. Right, there's a kitchen and a cafeteria. Senior cooking classes? Right, senior cooking classes could be a good. Our classes offered outside, right, Nicole? I mean, so they, I think one of we've, the location is great. They do have some assets in the building and outside the building. So the location is great. So that said, okay. Oh, what other people sectors could be engaged in a solution? So so far, it's the senior center director and your advisory council of, I forgot what I called the county, Prairie County. The advisory council, the extension advisory council of Prairie County is really interested in making the senior center more viable. But what other people sectors could be engaged in the solution? Local gym instructors, good. Business owners, yes. Now, Maria, what would business owners have to contribute? Let's put you on the spot. Well, I think there are opportunities, they might bring like a something that they have. Let's say it's a clothing store. They wanna bring out some, have a way to show new fashion. Maybe it's a restaurant and the restaurant wants to have kind of a way to showcase some of their things that they're doing, or they could have where the cooking class, the restaurant chef comes to them. So I think business owners, they have a, it's a win-win, they get their name out, but also there's something that can bring in the community in particular, maybe the seniors. Okay, I love that. Thank you. So Jane also included educators and faith communities, yes. So now Nicole's already moved on to the what part. So, great, good job, Nicole, reading ahead. So now we're thinking about PSE, this is, so I think we, one of the things that came from the study is that they want different types of educational offerings. And honestly, we got that. We already have some really great educational offerings that we can bring to these new invigorated clubhouses or whatever they might call them. But what other either environmental changes or, which is what, you know, make Nicole such, improve the sidewalks. So even if there is a school nearby, if the sidewalks aren't great, it's a little harder to, or the head starts, if there's, it's easier to get to and from rather than having to get everyone paddled into a vehicle and drive between sites. If it's easier to walk or have a healthier way of transportation sidewalks and improve sidewalks would help a ton. That would also probably involve policy change or some type of, you know, that's a, always a big change, but it's amazing how much those walkability improvements really do benefit. Right, learn from residents what the programming activities they would like to see at the center. That's a good start and, you know, kind of that other people, that coalition piece might be able to, what environmental changes might improve the situation? What other environmental changes? We mentioned, you know, bringing the kids in, I love that you mentioned that. I don't know if you read the article, but that, or if you had the chance to read the study, but that came up. I mean, that was a big deal. They wanted, they didn't want to feel like it was just based on their sense. But we do a lot of programming with kids too. You might be a natural connector between those two. And then, you know, I just always think right away of gardens and all the horticultural stuff we do with kids and with seniors. That there could be a really nice opportunity to put in some raised beds. And, you know, the Head Start kids come over, the school kids come over and work with, you know, work with the participants in that situation. Bring different food trucks. And I love that because I think sometimes we get caught up in, you know, seniors don't want the cool and hip things or baby boomers don't want the cool and hip things, but that's not even true. They totally do. Yes, thanks, Jane. I was one of the big things from this is don't call it a senior center, call it a community center. You know, if this senior center has this big space, you know, maybe they could do a little fitness area and maybe it could be open to other people in the community or they could do, you know, different types of things in there. So if you, on the final page or page 15 of this, they actually have recommendations and suggested strategies to attach to attacked baby boomers to senior centers. So if you, this is work that you might think about doing in your community. Yeah, Social Activity Club. I love that, Molly. Read this and it's all these different bullet points of things and really definite places where, you know, extension could provide some support. So I'm just gonna finish with this. There's like a minute for questions, but really, you know, the whole point of PSC is, it's not a, it's what you make it. It's what your communities make it. There is evidence and research supporting certain you know, outreach activities and interventions to drive those impacts and be heard. But it really is unique to the communities working in. And many hands make light work. This is not something we want anyone extension agent to take on in their own. It really is imperative that you engage your partners, your community coalitions. Questions, comments, I hope this was a lot. You know, whenever we talk about PSC, we never quite know where to focus. We are hoping to have, you know, again, ongoing conversations. We might set up regular calls if people want to kind of talk through some of these things. There are a lot of extension agents, a lot of SDW agents doing PSCs and that are not just our FMP agents. So even just getting grouped together to kind of talk through what's working, what's not working, I think might could be better because it's the direction that we're moving in. And you know, it's important that, you know, we feel more comfortable with the ideas and more comfortable with just this kind of new approach that, you know, we might be taking through self-righted extension activities. And I would say if there are some questions, Megan, that they could maybe reach out to you. Oh, here is a question from Bob. Thanks, Bob. Yes, I think a community of practice would be great. And I'd be happy to work with you on setting that up or being a part of that. Well, as we're finishing up here, Megan, I wanna thank you very much for helping extend our knowledge because that's what you've been helping us do with our discussion, with the information, with your ideas, your experience. So we really appreciate you doing that and for everyone to be on today for them, their participation in their ideas as well. So thank you so much. Thanks, Marie. Thanks, everyone. And I'll look for this in two weeks. We'll have our last webinar with Jodi talking about the entrepreneurship. And this particular webinar will be up on the Ag Info site soon. And then, Megan, if you can send me your PowerPoint, I'll put that up there as well. Perfect. All right, thanks, everyone.