Meet Liliana Ramirez

By Haley Kordus

Local outreach and advocacy are vital to addressing health and wellness issues amongst our community members. Leading the fight against food insecurity is the Brown County FoodWIse Nutrition Coordinator, Liliana Ramirez. FoodWIse is a federally funded program that encourages healthy decision making and improvement of the health of our community through education and the instillment of local programs. Liliana Ramirez constantly strives to educate parents and children on the importance of healthy eating, engages with community members to improve assistance programs, and supports families with limited incomes.

Liliana Ramirez’s journey in nutrition began in Mexico where she discovered her love for studying how food impacts our bodies. This drove her to pursue a Bachelor’s in Nutritional Sciences and complete a dietetic internship at an outpatient diabetes clinic. After gaining these experiences, Liliana made the move to Green Bay, Wisconsin, where she would complete a dietetic internship at the University of Wisconsin – Green Bay. Through this program, she was able to explore her passion for community nutrition and discover how important it is to make connections and learn from those around her in order to provide the best nutrition education possible. This allowed her to visualize the impact she could have on her community, which led her to accept the position as FoodWIse Nutrition Coordinator of the Brown County Extension. 

In the FoodWIse program, one of their main goals is to tackle the issue of food insecurity amongst those with limited incomes and increase access to healthy, safe local foods. Liliana Ramirez works to educate both children and parents on the importance of eating a healthy diet, as she mentions it is key to provide education for the entire family. The program is able to accomplish this by partnering with organizations in the community. For example, FoodWIse partnered with the Boys and Girls Club to provide virtual cooking lessons that children and parents could complete together. With Liliana’s leadership, FoodWIse has been able to create a support system for community members through these partnerships. 

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the FoodWIse program had to adapt quickly to ensure community members still had access to the program resources. Research performed by the FoodWIse UW-Madison branch reported 1 in 10 Wisconsin households faced food insecurity prior to the pandemic (SNAP-ED Works 2020). Liliana Ramirez explained how communication and being able to adapt was the key to the program’s success during this difficult time. The program adapted to the circumstances by providing virtual resources to the community. Instead of going out into the community, Liliana was able to reach members by creating virtual educational content, such as social media videos. 

As mentioned in the SNAP-ED WORKS 2020 publication by FoodWIse, all programs are evidence-based and results have been seen from implementing the program in communities across Wisconsin.  Liliana mentioned how she has seen a great increase in the consumption of fruits and vegetables in families. She atributes this increase to the program’s educational resources. The program offers opportunities for community members to learn how to cook healthy meals and utilize fruits and vegetables. Similar improvements have been seen after the implementation of other FoodWIse programs. For example, 57% of teachers reported seeing children eat more vegetables at school and 45% of parents reported their children drinking less sugar sweetened beverages less frequently (SNAP-ED Works 2020). When asked about where improvements are going to be made, Liliana explains how she would like to continue working to increase access to nutritional food in the community by partnering with more organizations and initiatives. She is excited about diving into working on environmental policies in the near future that would also increase said access.

Likewise, the FoodWIse program is always adapting and looking to make positive change. Liliana is currently working on increasing healthy food options and resources amongst community food pantries. She mentions how it is incredibly important to collaborate and connect with local organizations, such as New Leaf Foods. Together, FoodWIse and New Leaf Foods can provide resources to community members and work together to see where change can be made. Liliana stresses how important it is to have a collective impact and unite to work together towards common goals such as improving access to local healthy food, promoting healthy food education, and building a sustainable local food system. In closing, Liliana Ramirez explains how the cumulative goal of the FoodWIse program is to, “Make the healthy choice, the easy choice.” 

References: 

FoodWIse UW-Madison Extension . (2020). SNAP-ED Works 2020. 

Kordus, Haley. “Liliana Ramirez on Local Food Issues in Our Community.” 11 Oct. 2021.