ACCD News & Events

SPC Receives Grant to Promote Nutrition Education Among Culinary Students
USDA Hispanic-Serving Institution Program Grant to Fund Proyecto Alimento: Success in Food and Nutrition

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 12, 2005
CONTACT: Roland Ruiz, Director of Public Relations, St. Philip's College
210/531-4851
rruiz@accd.edu

Mary Kunz, chair of the St. Philip’s College Tourism, Hospitality & Culinary Arts Program; Dr. Fernando Guerra, director of the San Antonio Metropolitan Health District; Dr. Neeta Singh, assistant professor in the Nutrition Program, School of Mathematics, Science & Engineering at the University of the Incarnate Word; and Dr. Angie Runnels, president of St. Philip’s College, were among those who gathered recently to celebrate the announcement of Proyecto Alimento: Success in Food and Nutrition. The project, funded by a $348,443 grant from the USDA, aims to increase student enrollment in and retention in the field of nutrition while meeting the unique needs of the South Texas community.

Two San Antonio institutions of higher education with predominantly Hispanic student populations – St. Philip’s College and the University of the Incarnate Word (UIW) – are partnering on a two-year, grant-funded project aimed at encouraging more students from Hispanic-Serving Institutions to pursue and obtain college degrees in the field of nutrition. The program, Proyecto Alimento: Success in Food and Nutrition, is made possible through a $348,443 U.S. Department of Agriculture grant that was recently awarded to St. Philip’s College. The grant is the first the College has received from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Proyecto Alimento: Success in Food and Nutrition addresses two pressing issues affecting the Hispanic population – the disparity in numbers enrolling in and graduating from college, and the alarming incidence of obesity, according to Project Director Mary Kunz, a registered dietitian who is chair of the St. Philip’s College Department of Tourism, Hospitality and Culinary Arts.

“This project will give our Culinary Arts students access to another level of education by enabling them to study food science and nutrition and its impact on health,” Kunz said. “Two areas in our society in which we cannot afford to be deficient are nutrition and education. We are pleased that the USDA recognizes our institutions’ joint capabilities to impact these critical issues in our community.”

Proyecto Alimento: Success in Food and Nutrition will help St. Philip’s and UIW to increase student enrollment and retention in the field of nutrition while meeting the unique needs of the diverse southwest Texas community. The resources provided by the Proyecto Alimento grant, awarded August 1, 2005, will expose St. Philip’s and UIW students to a wide range of research ideas and career opportunities in Nutrition. Specifically, the program focuses on increasing the number of students who enroll at St. Philip’s as Culinary Arts majors, complete an associate’s degree in applied science (A.A.S.), then transfer to UIW to complete a bachelor’s of science (B.S.) degree in Nutrition.

Key aspects of the program will include student recruitment, scholarships, retention measures, and collaborative activities between St. Philip’s and UIW to acquaint students and faculty with critical issues in the field. The project evaluation will be conducted by the University of Texas at San Antonio, another Hispanic-Serving Institution.

UIW is the only private institution in Central and South Texas to offer full degree programs (bachelor’s and master’s) and internships in Nutrition, and strives to create and participate in meaningful partnerships to address unmet educational, nutritional, and health needs of the community.

Proyecto Alimento is not the first time St. Philip’s College and UIW have collaborated on a grant-funded program. Previously, the two institutions partnered under a grant St. Philip’s College received from the National Aeronautic and Space Administration (NASA) to recruit and retain minority students in Earth Sciences.

St. Philip’s College, one of the Alamo Community Colleges serving the greater Bexar County region, is a comprehensive community college designated as both a Historically Black College and a Hispanic-Serving Institution. St. Philip’s College is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.