Ten years ago, in 2008, the Colorado State University Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition established a nutrition center that would go on to impact countless lives in our community and beyond.

Establishing the center

Now called the Kendall Reagan Nutrition Center (KRNC), the center was established by then Department Head Chris Melby and Director Melissa Wdowik. The center was created in a space in the Gifford Building to serve CSU and the wider community with outreach in counseling, diet intake analysis, body composition measurements, and meal planning, while giving students hands-on opportunities to apply what they learned in the classroom. The center also established a series of classes to teach people the best skills for creating healthy meals and snacks and hold grocery tours.

The focus has always been on creating lifestyle changes that impact behaviors through knowledge, and not restrictive diets.

Generous donors

In 2011, the nutrition center was honored with generous donations from two alumna, Pat Kendall and Danette Reagan, who believed in the mission and understood the benefits of investing in the future. Their substantial support named the center and over the years has enabled the KRNC to evolve. They added two full-time registered dietician nutritionists, a program coordinator, and numerous support positions. The center also expanded into a new suite of offices in the University’s Health and Medical Center last year.

Since then, the KRNC has been able to increase the outreach to the public, create more client materials and curriculum, adopt an electronic health record, improve client care, increase social media presence, engage in rebranding and marketing, and provide unmatched learning opportunities for students at CSU.

Community impact

One of the significant impacts of the KRNC has been in providing students hands-on experience while reaching a wide audience in the community. In this way, the KRNC has played a key role in the development of many highly qualified professionals in the fields of nutrition and wellness.

“As a CSU Extension nutrition education specialist for 35 years, I understand the need for both community-based nutrition education and helping students develop the skills they need to become competent, compassionate and effective nutrition education counselors,” Kendall said.

“I was born and raised in Fort Collins, and it has always been important to me to give back to the community and school, which have given me so much,” Reagan added. “My success over the past 30 years as a clinical dietitian in long-term care and in the hospital setting can be attributed to the education and mentors that I had at CSU.”

Wdowik retired this year after dedicating 10 years to building the nutrition center programs. “Over the years, our goal was to be the leading nutrition resource in Northern Colorado, and I feel we have achieved that in many ways,” she said.

Read more about the Kendall Reagan Nutrition Center 10-year anniversary on its website.

The Kendall Reagan Nutrition Center is a part of the Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition in CSU’s College of Health and Human Sciences.