To the Editorial Staff at the Daily Sundial:
On Sept. 29, 2016, an article was published, entitled “Student Nutrition on a Tight Schedule and Budget.” While the topic is really important to address, there were several components of the article that may have caused confusion and might have misinformed the readers. The purpose of this letter to the editor is to help clarify some things – and welcome our students to some wonderful services available to them.
The photograph that opens the article shows that, in fact, there are many healthy choices for students and faculty on our CSUN campus. In addition to nutrition information being available at many of our CSUN venues, if anyone wants to know more, one can go to the website for a helpful and healthy food guide. CSUN has also provided wonderful workshops on Healthy Eating on a Budget. In addition, we have a fabulous (at no cost to students) service known as Peer Nutrition Counseling (PNC), which is available at the Student Health Center and the Oasis Wellness Center.
To further clarify a bit more: Peer Nutrition Counseling and the business mentioned in the article are not at all related.
- Peer Nutrition Counseling is an academic course, which is part of our Didactic Program in Dietetics.
- The Nutrition and Dietetics program is an area of concentration within the Family & Consumer Sciences major.
- As part of the coursework, our Nutrition and Dietetics (ND) students offer one-on-one nutrition counseling, free of charge, to any CSUN student.
- The critical piece to understand is that our ND students are skilled and knowledgeable “experts” – from all of their academic coursework and mentoring.
- The business mentioned in the article is just that, a for-profit business. The one mentioned in the article is owned and operated by a biology student who does not have any association with our Nutrition program. Students pay for the service.
Our PNC students are eager and ready to help everyone learn about healthy eating – on and off campus, so please join us. You can book an appointment online through the Oasis Wellness Center or the Klotz Student Health Center, and can also call (818) 677-3666.
PNCs look forward to serving you and helping to keep you healthy!
– Dr. Lisagor, Professor, Nutrition and Dietetics, PNC Advisor
