What inspires you?

All of us have been inspired by someone in our lives or maybe by a few people whether it be a parent, sibling, spouse, teacher, mentor, coach, athlete, or even a celebrity (yes there are some inspiring ones).  I am touched and inspired by people everyday and they help me to see that in life even the smallest things can make a difference.  Many people misinterpret me when I say that my degree is in Nutrition.  No I do not make diet plans for people to lose weight.  I am not a certified nutritionist that you would consult in a gym.  Being a registered dietician has much more to do with than just writing diet plans.  Sure we know how to develop diet plans and know what foods are good and bad and how they effect the body, but we also see the deeper meaning of nutrition.  How many people know what a food desert or food injustice is?  What does the farm bill entail?  Many people don't know the answers to these questions.  In my education we study all aspects of nutrition from a medical point to a governmental point.  Yes government and policy has a huge impact on nutrition.  Many of our congress members work everyday on policies to help feed our communities.  I have advocated to three of them and they were quick to respond to my letters.  Recently I wrote to Senator Campos on how they plan on getting New Mexico grown produce served in our schools.  The future well being of children is near to my heart and I hope to one day use my career to help the children in our community.   How many people know that New Mexico has one of the biggest food deserts in the country, meaning that many families don't get enough healthy food to eat because of where they live and they simply can't afford to get healthy food.  The lack of nutritious food available has caused 1 in every 3 children to become obese, that is almost 50% of the population.  Because of the rising costs of supplies and the devastating effects on the environment many of our farmers are having a hard time growing crops that are good enough to harvest.  There are two projects in Albuquerque called Project Feed the Hood and La Coesecha that work to get fresh produce to the low income families in the community.  These people inspire me with the amount of time and work they put into making sure these families have fresh produce every week and still it is not enough.  Its hard for these projects to stay funded because here in New Mexico we have a huge lack of resources.  Hopefully, I can be a part of a change even just a small part.  Recently, my husband came to me with an idea.  Just something he wants to do to give back to those less fortunate.  Along with our family and friends we plan on making sack lunches to donate to the Albuquerque rescue mission.  Maybe this is a project that we can grow overtime.  All projects start off small before they are big.