The "One Big Beautiful Bill Act" is not so beautiful

Taking a Closer Look 

at the not so beautiful, "One Big Beautiful Bill Act"

The bill (P.L. 119-21) passed and was signed into law by Donald Trump on July 4, 2025 

https://www.congress.gov/119/plaws/publ21/PLAW-119publ21.pdf

As a registered dietitian and adjunct nutrition faculty at Rowan University, the cuts to SNAP are hitting me hard right now as an educator; but not nearly as hard as the families affected personally and the employees whom have lost their government jobs. 

SNAP, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, is formerly known as America's food stamp program. The program provides food benefits and more to low income families. The recent SNAP cuts could widen New Jersey's nutritional health gap.(1)

The SNAP-ed programs served Community Nutrition gardening, diet and lifestyle interventions in so many wonderful ways across the US and are already feeling so missed. Our south Jersey Rutgers Extension office had a wonderful program that is now dismantled. You may remember some of the recipes posted on GardenCuizine from our NJ SNAP-ed program.

Here is a link to Maine's SNAP-ed recipes and tips and Eating Healthy on a Budget Cookbook.

This video shows success at the 2023 California Fresh Calfresh SNAP-ed program: 

Community nutrition education is needed to inspire and teach people how to eat well to prevent nutrition related diseases, such as: obesity, pre-diabetes, type 2 diabetes, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, etc. 

Tonight, I took a closer look at The One Big Beautiful Bill's (OBBB) cuts to the SNAP program but also the many rescissions of a LOT of funding related to our environment; oh my, this is outright appalling and is unacceptable. 

Below chart clip of Sec 60001 to 60026 rescission/repeals: (2) 

 

I am not sure why our scientists and leaders have lost their voice (sorry if you are speaking out, but it does not seem to be loud enough!) in convincing the public and the President on how critical a clean environment is for the future of all of us and our children, including the President and his friends and family members.

Sorry for such a heavy post; it may be partially related to me feeling sad of the new health struggles that Harry is facing. We have a big day tomorrow with medical experts. Nothing is ever easy. And to make it worse our weeds are winning in the garden... tomorrow is a new day.

Stay strong. Keep pushing!

DW 

References:

1. How SNAP cuts could widen New Jersey's Nutritional Health Gap. Accessed 9/21/2026. https://policylab.rutgers.edu/publication/how-snap-cuts-could-widen-new-jerseys-nutritional-health-gap/ 
2.  US Congress.gov. Public Law 119-21. Accessed 9/21/2026. https://www.congress.gov/119/plaws/publ21/PLAW-119publ21.pdf 

Blog post Copyright (C) Wind 2026. All rights reserved.

Wonderful Visit to Ward's Flower Farm

 

Ward's Flower Farm

Sunflower Design Class 

with Jennifer Reed 

Harry and I enjoyed a wonderful visit to Ward's Flower Farm this summer to participate in a Sunflower Design Class by Jennifer Reed. I've wanted to go there for a few years now; we finally had the perfect opportunity. Ward's Farm is in scenic Mannington Township located in Salem County, New Jersey.  

Their parking lot is next to their beautiful meadow featuring lots of colorful cosmos with butterflies fluttering about. Allen, one of the owners, gave us a brief history of their farm and walked us down the leading path to tour the grounds. He explained some of their plantings. 

I wish I knew the variety of white asters they grow. They were a lovely touch to the gorgeous floral arrangements that we made. 

Allen and his wife market their business on social media. That was how I first learned about them. The link to their website is below to learn more. They note on their website that they started with vegetables then switched over to farming mainly flowers and farm a little over 11 acres.

I've always loved driving through Salem; it's surrounded by lots of open space and preserved farm land. Like many Jersey farmers, their neighboring farm was growing soybeans. Ms Ward was sick on the day we visited, so we did not get to meet her. Allen gave us the tour and picked the flowers for the group.

It rained during our visit, but we did need the rain, the group in attendance didn't seem to mind. They had a large hoop house for cover that they use for weddings and parties. That was where floral designer Jennifer Reed awaited for us so she could start the Sunflower Design Class.

Jennifer of Jennifer's Designs does amazing floral designs. She has won many accolades from designing large scale award winning displays, including most recently, best in show at The Philadelphia Flower Show! She was also lead floral designer at The First Lady's Luncheon and the Grammys Red Carpet! 

Wow! How lucky to have Jennifer share her talent with us right here in South Jersey. I can't write about all of her many achievements to do them justice, best for you to visit her website for more information about her very accomplished floral designer background. 

The tour at Ward's Flower Farm included a stroll to admire flower fields; a honey bee area; and a pond that must make a lovely wedding backdrop in photos. We walked over a bridge over the pond to see the sunflower patch and another huge flower field in the distance where they grow dahlias and other flower varieties. 

We were provided with everything from the wide mouth glass vase to pruners and gorgeous fresh picked flowers to design individual, large floral arrangements. I loved that the designer uses a lazy Susan to spin the arrangement while designing! This reminded me of my pastry chef cake designs. Why didn't I ever think of that for our church flower guild arrangements? 

Jennifer taught us to start out with greens fanned along the vase base; we included Baker Ferns and Lemon leaf greens. Then we positioned about 5 sunflowers around the bottom atop of the greens, followed by solidago filler. We added another layer of sunflowers around midpoint, and a center sunflower to set the height. 

Additional accents included: white zinnias and asters, greenhouse-grown blue-grey eucalyptus, asparagus fern, and bright orange marigolds to complete the arrangement. The sturdy stemmed, large, yellow, sunflowers were the highlight. 

Jennifer pointed out that according to a study, the color yellow may bring positive results to hospitalized patients. Yellow is very cheery and uplifting!

To complete our NJ adventure, when we got home, we cooked Jersey Corn and fried Jersey tomatoes for dinner! I forget what our protein was, but we did have protein too, of course, to balance out the dinner. 

Almost forgot to show you this brief pic of a spotted horse seen on their street at a neighbor's farm as we left Ward's farm. If a horse could be a dalmatian, this one was! It looks like a Leopard Appaloosa horse breed, which I've never seen before.

Thanks for reading!

Stay tuned for a post of what's growing in our garden, coming next.

Happy Gardening!

-Diana 

Related Links

Largest Acquisition of NJ Farmland 

Wards Farm history

Jennifer Designs PHS Best in Show 2025

Jennifer Designs 

Blog post and photos Copyright (C) Wind. All rights reserved. 

 

ASN Conference Nutrition2026 Poster Session: Prevent Youth Type 2 Diabetes

ASN Conference Nutrition2026

Proud to present at the American Society of Nutrition annual conference July 25-28 near Washington, D.C. at the Gaylord Hotel and Conference Center, National Harbor, Maryland.

I had a mixed bag of emotions departing from home to attend as our cat Cali was dying. It was hard to leave home knowing this. She held on until I got home; she passed away yesterday from hyperthyroid. 

The conference was a lot to take in for a first timer. I hope that I will have the opportunity to attend again. Next year is in Vegas and their centennial Nutrition2028 is slated for Boston, my favorite city. 

I plan to encourage my students to get involved in the group's engaging members, GEMS. This was the first I learned more about ASN's special interest groups. I signed up for the Community and Public Health Nutrition GEM. 

Some of my former professors from Rutgers were there as speakers! Seeing Dr Fitzgerald was a highlight for me. Another exciting highlight for me was meeting Dr Dodge from University of New England (UNE) in person! She was my mentor for this research along with Dr Falls. Dr Dodge directed the master's in nutrition at UNE. Now she is developing their doctoral program. 

Standing by my poster was of course a huge honor. People all around me came from all around the world to present their research. Just across from my poster was a scientist from Ireland standing by her poster.

The symposium on The Gut Microbiome and Risk of Child Obesity by Dr Comstock of Michigan State University was very interesting. The ASN Welcome Reception was terrific! They provided a free glass of wine and delicious food. It was great to see a Rutger's PhD, RD standing among the group selected as Emerging Leaders in Nutrition Science Poster Competition. 

It was also great hearing Christopher Duggan, MD, MPH, speaker from Boston Children's Hospital. He is also the editor in chief for The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. Congrats to him on receiving the 2026 Robert Suskind and Leslie Lewinter-Suskind lifetime achievement award. Since I work in a teaching hospital, I liked that he encourages doctors to learn more about nutrition, "...Many of the underlying problems are nutrition problems," said Dr. Duggan. He does not see this as a threat to dietitians as they are an integral part of the healthcare team. He credits learning a lot about nutrition from dietitians and other mentors, including Dr Walter Willett, a physician and nutrition researcher and professor at the Harvard Chan School of Public Health.

A beautiful ending to a very busy day!

The conference location was along the Potomac River at the Gaylord Hotel and Conference Center. The large 350 foot tall Capital Wheel was nearby and lit up the sky with a rainbow of colors every night. The sunset and surrounding landscaping at the hotel were gorgeous. I didn't get any photos of the plantings, but it was sort of what you would expect to see at Longwood Gardens.

My personal interest in doing all that I can to help children prevent type 2 diabetes was strengthened by this experience. It made me reflect on all of the children and adolescents and families that I have had the privilege to consult and treat.

As these individuals with prediabetes continue working on their wellness goals, such as combined lifestyle interventions of healthy eating and exercise for at least 30 minutes a day, they can be reassured that some evidence shows that this can lower hemoglobin A1C, which in turn can delay the progression or even reverse their prediabetes. 

I hope that my research poster on the topic was noticed by others as many dietitians and researchers may be unaware that the rate of adolescents with prediabetes has now reached the adult rate of one in three having prediabetes. Prediabetes leads to type 2 diabetes and in most cases this is preventable.

Follow me on Instagram for more on this important topic.

Related links

Career Pathways in Nutrition 

New GEM for Physicians interested in Nutrition 

Membership in ASN for students - FREE for undergrads; $40 for students 

Preventing Type 2 Diabetes in Kids 

Blog post and photos Copyright(C) Wind. All rights reserved. 

Proud to be presenting at ASN #Nutrition2026 !

I am proud to announce that my nutrition abstract was selected to present at the Nutrition 2026 conference in Washington DC this weekend! Below is my time and more information:

Session: (P07) Community and Public Health Nutrition (I) (Poster Session) (10:00 AM – 2:30 PM)

Saturday, July 25, 2026

11:30 AM – 12:30 PM

(P07-55-26) Prevent Youth Type 2 Diabetes: An Updated Systematic Review With Implications for the School Nurse and Registered Dietitian

Presenting Author:  Diana P. Wind, MS, RDN (she/her/hers) – Clinical RDN Inspira Health; Adjunct Professor, Rowan University

 

Globally, 464 million people (9.1%) have impaired glucose tolerance, which by 2045 is predicted to increase to 638 million.¹

Unprecedented, rising rates of prediabetes in children and adolescents ² is alarming parents, school nurses and dietitians. Adolescents have now reached the adult rate: one in three adolescents have prediabetes!³

Minority youth and youth with obesity have greater risk for prediabetes.² Indicators of prediabetes are insulin resistance, impaired fasting glucose, impaired glucose tolerance and/or abnormal hemoglobin (Hb)A1c.

• Diet and lifestyle are key modifiable risk factors.

This systematic review has two aims: 1) to update previous 2015 research by Brackney and Cutshall⁴ to identify currently used strategies for the prevention of youth-onset type 2 diabetes with implications not just for the school nurse but also the registered dietitian.

And 2) to evaluate whether combined lifestyle interventions will reduce HbA1c in adolescents with obesity and prediabetes compared to adolescents with obesity and prediabetes who do not participate in CLI.

My review was guided by expertise and feedback from the University of New England’s graduate program in applied nutrition capstone advisory board: Ellie Dodge, PhD, RD and Elizabeth Falls, PhD, RD. 

I'm looking forward to attending and presenting!

References

1)     Mary R. Rooney, Michael Fang, Katherine Ogurtsova, Bige Ozkan, Justin B. Echouffo-Tcheugui, Edward J. Boyko, Dianna J. Magliano, Elizabeth Selvin; Global Prevalence of Prediabetes. Diabetes Care 1 July 2023; 46 (7): 1388–1394. https://doi.org/10.2337/dc22-2376
2)     International Diabetes Federation. Type 2 Diabetes. Accessed March 2, 2024. https://idf.org/about-diabetes/type-2-diabetes/
3)     American Diabetes Association. Prediabetes Doubles in Adolescents. Accessed February 24, 2024. https://diabetes.org/about-diabetes/prediabetes/adolescents-prediabetes-health-risk
4)     Brackney DE, Cutshall M. Prevention of type 2 diabetes among youth: a systematic review, implications for the school nurse. J Sch Nurs. 2015;31(1):6-21. doi:10.1177/1059840514535445

Blog post Copyright (C)Wind. All rights reserved.