Agent with cooperative extension helps people learn to live better lives

DANBURY

Janelle Kent is most definitely an educator, but she doesn't teach in a school.

In her 30 years as a nutritionist and now an extension agent, she has helped teach people how to eat better, cook more safely — and ultimately live better lives.

"I always was drawn to the area of public health and nutrition," she said.

Kent, 54, is the Stokes County agent for Family & Consumer Sciences at the N.C. Cooperative Extension Office, where she has worked since 2005.

Kent grew up in Danbury, one of three daughters to Doris and Raymond Young.

Before joining the extension service, she worked for about 25 years as a nutritionist, primarily at the Stokes County Health Center.

In 2004, she decided to change careers. "My kids were going off to college and I was ready for something different," she said. "I learned about the extension service and thought that was something I would enjoy doing."

She worked for the Forsyth County extension office for a year, then got her current job when the Stokes agent for Family & Consumer Sciences retired in 2005. "I just couldn't resist that opportunity," she said. "I'm a Stokes County girl."

At the Stokes office, Kent offers people help with money management, child-rearing, aging issues and housing issues. "I deal with anything that has to do with family, in particular anything that helps families make consumer choices," she said.

This time of year, Kent gets a lot of calls about canning. "Food safety — and food preservation — that's where extension has its niche," she said. "We're a recognized source for that."

Another popular topic with callers is mold and mildew in basements.

"There is no typical day," Kent said. "Some days you come in and do planning for programs. Or you might come in and some major thing has happened and you've got calls coming in — like when the power's out and people are calling to see if it's still safe to keep their food."

Kent doesn't sit around waiting for people to come to her, though. She frequently organizes programs that allow her to teach nutrition and other topics to groups.

Every year, she does a canning class in the summer to help people safely preserve the bounty of their gardens.

She had 45 people attend an 11-week program on weight management this winter. Donna Mitchell of the Sandy Ridge community in Stokes said that the program was not only very informative but also successful. She lost 17 pounds in those 11 weeks. Part of what made the program a success is that Kent "is very understanding of people's lifestyles," Mitchell said. "She understands how easy it is to slip away from an exercise routine."

Kent also does a three-session course every year on Dining With Diabetes that includes cooking help. And she has taught the ServSafe class on food safety for restaurant employees and other food-service professionals.

As part of Promoting Healthy Eating Across North Carolina, Kent went to visit third- and fourth-grade classes in public schools for 10 weeks. "We do things like set up fruits and vegetable stations and let kids try fruits and vegetables they may have never had," she said. "We had three classes on food safety. In one, we did the 'glow germ' activity. We put orange lotion on their hands, then had them wash their hands. Then we used a black light to show them what areas they missed washing."

On Friday, Kent led a group of 4-H kids through a bread-baking class as part of Extension All-Day, a program designed to show kids all the services that the extension office provides.

Colleagues said that Kent is able to do so many programs because she's so well organized, understands the needs of Stokes residents and knows how to take the initiative.

"Janelle saw the need to teach nutrition in the schools, and she got the grant for that," said Michael Hilton, the interim director and horticultural agent of the Stokes extension office.

"She just has an impeccable work ethic. She really dots every i and crosses every t."

"Janelle is very quiet and unassuming, but she has lots of innovative ideas," said Margaret Moore McClanahan, who worked with Kent for more than 10 years at the Stokes County Health Center. "She really has the people of Stokes at heart because she's one of them."

Hilton said that Kent has a passion for what she does even when she seems to be quietly going about her business. "She's very reserved, but when it comes to her programs, that passion really comes out."

In addition to her extension work, Kent also serves on many community boards to help promote the needs of Stokes residents. These include Eat Right Network of Stokes County, Healthy Carolinians of Stokes and Stokes Partnership for Children.

Kent said that the hardest part of her job is keeping organized and balancing all the different tasks. But she enjoys it when she can help someone, whether it's simply telling them how to manage their diabetes or how to safely thaw a Thanksgiving turkey.

"I like helping people learn new skills. There's never a dull moment," she said.

"I've learned a lot on the job myself."

- Michael Hastings can be reached at 727-7394 or at mhastings@wsjournal.com.