Nancy Abasiekong

Nancy Abasiekong is the Family & Consumer Sciences Extension Agent with the NC Cooperative Extension in Cleveland County. She is a recognized expert in the areas of nutrition & health, local foods, food safety, and food preservation. In addition, Nancy's Family & Consumer Sciences Program also addresses community issues related to family resource management, housing, human development, and parenting.
Nancy serves as the liaison agent with the Cleveland County Extension & Community Association (ECA), formerly known as Extension Homemakers. The purpose of ECA is to empower individuals and families to improve their quality of living through continuing education, leadership development, and community service. Through this voluntary organization, members cooperate with NC Cooperative Extension to extend educational opportunities and volunteer in many ways to improve our community. ECA welcomes new members and invites you to follow them on Facebook at www.facbook.com/ClevelandCountyECA/
Nancy is a graduate of Berea College in Kentucky, where she earned a B.S. Degree in Home Economics Education. She also holds a Master's Degree in Home Economics Education from UNC-Greensboro and a Gerontology Certification from Western Carolina University.
Nancy is originally from Williamson, WV, where she grew up with her parents, 5 sisters and 1 brother. They enjoyed coming to Belmont each summer and spending the summer with her grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins. She has many fond memories of times on the farm learning about gardening, canning, and eating freshly picked fruits and vegetables. This gave her a real appreciation for nature's bounty!
Nancy began her Extension career in Mecklenburg County as a Community Resource Development Extension Agent with CRD, home economics, and 4-H responsibilities. She has worked with Cooperative Extension in Mecklenburg and Cleveland Counties.
Nancy is committed to NC State's mission of improving families' well-being through educational programs that help families put knowledge to work using research-based information to find solutions.
Some of the programs currently available through the Family & Consumer Sciences (FCS) programs are:
Steps to Health - Take Control: Participants learn how to improve their health by changing their eating habits and becoming more physically active. They develop personal goals and track their progress in improving lifestyle choices.
Food Preservation: "Hands-on" food preservation workshops at the Cleveland County Extension Center and Mauney Memorial Library teach proper methods for canning, freezing, pickling, and drying foods safely at home. Nancy welcomes phone calls about food preservation and even tests dial-gauge pressure canners free of charge at the Extension Center.
Med Instead of Meds: Eating the Mediterranean way is delicious and satisfying, and has been proven to protect against chronic illness. In some cases, eating the Med Way may even result in decreasing medications taken for blood pressure, high cholesterol, or diabetes. Hence the name "Med Instead of Meds". Nancy is passionate about providing people with the information and tools needed to make delicious meals for themselves and their families, and to transform their eating to the Med Way.
A Matter of Balance: People of all ages, but especially older adults, can be at risk of a fall. A fall can lead to major changes in a person's freedom, ability to live independently at home, and can affect overall health. Nancy and Cooperative Extension have partnered with the Area Agency on Aging and other organizations in our community to offer a fall prevention program, A Matter of Balance. Participants in this program learn to assess their risks for falling, evaluate hazards in their home and find ways to reduce these dangers, and how to work with their health care provider to prevent falls, and ways to grow stronger through exercise and regular physical activity.
You may reach Nancy at 704-482-4365 or nancy_ababiekong@ncsu.edu.
Submitted by Gregory B. Traywick