NDSU Extension Service Awarded Folic Acid Grant

The Dakota Medical Foundation has awarded the North Dakota State University Extension Service a $10,000 grant to improve women’s knowledge of folic acid and its role in preventing birth defects.

The NDSU Extension Service and North Dakota Folic Acid/Healthy Pregnancy Task Force plan to educate women of childbearing age about folic acid through multiple avenues, including public service announcements, classes, brochures, table tents, bookmarks and a Web site (http://www.ndsu.edu/healthypregnancy). This educational effort will be based on the messages in the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s “Ready or Not” campaign.

The statewide task force promotes the message that consuming 400 micrograms of folic acid a day can prevent up to 70 percent of the birth defects of the brain and spine. Folic acid is a B vitamin the body needs to make healthy cells

“We are pleased to receive this grant funding because it will help us reach thousands of women with this important health message,” says Julie Garden-Robinson, food and nutrition specialist with the NDSU Extension Service.

The Fargo-based Dakota Medical Foundation focuses its efforts on improving health and access to medical dental care in the region, especially for children. Since 1996, the foundation has invested more than $32 million in 299 nonprofit organizations in the area.

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