A longtime restaurant in South Hall is well-known for its hamburgers, milkshakes and French fries.

When you drive by, you can’t help but smell the fries. It’s very tempting to safely pullover, stop, turn around and go back.

Wouldn’t you agree the smell or aroma of a food can influence our meal choices? Our Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program takes a look at how we make decisions about food.

The program information reports some of the factors that shape our decisions about food include taste, cost, convenience, culture, advertising, health/nutrition, environment/setting, friends and weather.

The free program, for parents of children ages birth through 18, also shows adults how to save money at the grocery store, plan stress-free mealtimes and increase their fruit, vegetable and dairy intake.

We’ve held sessions with Lanier Charter Career Academy, The Salvation Army, Lanier Technical College, Angel House and other groups throughout Hall County. If you have a parenting group at a school, nonprofit organization or place of worship, the EFNEP lesson series is a great resource for helpful everyday tips and recipes.

The program includes seven lessons and the parents receive a special cookbook and certificate upon completion of the program. During the sessions, participants can sample recipes such as fruity parfaits, fiesta quesadillas, curly noodle supreme and peach crumble.

If you’d like to schedule the EFNEP program, call me at 770-535-8290.

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One of my aunts recently died.

She was a former cafeteria manager at a local elementary school and had a great sense of humor.

If you’ve ever experienced a loss, then you’re familiar with the flood of memories that go through your mind soon after a death. You’ll start thinking about things and remembering things that make you smile and chuckle.

I’m always talking about gathering recipes for a family cookbook. Well, here I go again. I still have an email from my aunt with some recipes she wanted to share. So, I guess it’s time to really set aside time for that project.

Sandra Stringer is a nutrition educator with the UGA Cooperative Extension office in Hall County. Call her at 770-535-8290. Her column appears on gainesvilletimes.com/life.