Healthy & Safe Food Prep Methods; Farm-to-table; Farmer's Market; SNAP; Gardening; Food DollarsPlan of Work

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Ohio County CES

Title:
Healthy & Safe Food Prep Methods; Farm-to-table; Farmer's Market; SNAP; Gardening; Food Dollars
MAP:
Accessing Nutritious Foods
Agents Involved:
Gary Druin, 4-H Agent; Greg Comer, ANR Agent
MAJOR PROGRAM 1:
Accessing Nutritious Foods (general)
MAJOR PROGRAM 2:
Home & Consumer Horticulture
MAJOR PROGRAM 3:
Food Preservation
MAJOR PROGRAM 4:
Farmer's Markets
Situation:

Increases in obesity and diet-related diseases are major public health problems across Kentucky. Also, limited access to nutritious food and relatively easier access to less nutritious food may contribute to poor diets and, ultimately, to obesity and diet-related diseases. Another factor affecting Ohio County is the high number of low income/food stamp families. This is reflected in ~4300 students in Ohio County school system now being eligible for free breakfast/lunches while at school. Data from 2011 shows 1,959 children receive food stamps, up 16.9% from just 2 years prior.

Nutrition Education Programs (NEP) help families gain access to food and stretch food dollars; communities to decrease hunger; and local food assistance programs to educate recipients on healthy and safe food preparation methods. Agents, paraprofessionals and volunteers are pivotal in training consumers and producers to maximize local access to food products from farm to table.

Long-Term Outcomes:

•Individuals will increase consumption of fruits and vegetables through home/ community gardens/ orchards and/or accessing the local Farmers’ Market

•Individuals will prepare meals at home 5 or more times a week

•Farmer’s Market vendors and home gardeners will increase variety of healthy fruits and vegetables available for consumption

•SNAP/ WIC voucher redemptions will increase at Beaver Dam Community Farmer’s Market

Intermediate Outcomes:

•Families will access more local foods

•Individuals/ Families will adopt one recommendation from the Dietary Guidelines

•Individuals engage in good food safety practices

•Individuals will grow, care for, produce and preserve foods from personal gardens/ orchards to gain access to healthy foods

•SNAP/ WIC voucher holders will have increased awareness of available fruits/ vegetables at B.D Farmer’s Market

•School age children will increase awareness of producing their own vegetables

Initial Outcomes:

•Students will recognize the importance of eating a variety of colorful fruits and vegetables

•Students identify and classify fruits and vegetables

•Increase will describe food preparation techniques

•Individuals will describe food safety practices

•Individuals will describe safe food preservation techniques

•Individuals will develop skills and knowledge to grow their own garden/ orchard

•Partners will recognize the need for community social, environmental, and policy systems to address efforts toward improving healthier lifestyles

•Families will recognize the local availability of safe, nutritious fruits & vegetables at Farmer’s Market

•Residents of housing authorities will recognize the value of “community gardens” for access to local vegetables

Evaluation:

Outcome: Individuals will increase consumption of fruits and vegetables from home/ community gardens/ orchards and/or increase access to the local Farmers’ Market

Indicator: Increase in Sales at the local Farmer’s Market.

Method: Pre/ Post evaluation. Sales data collected from the Farmer’s Market.

Timeline: All year


Evaluation:

Outcome: Individuals/ Families will adopt one recommendation from the Dietary Guidelines

Indicator: Number of individuals who reported adopting at least one of the recommendations from the dietary guidelines.

Method: Pre/ Post evaluation

Timeline: All year


Evaluation:

Outcome: Individuals will describe safe food preservation techniques

Indicator: Increase number of program participants and individuals using Extension as a resource for food preservation

Method: Pre/ Post evaluations, Daily Service Log

Timeline: May - August

Learning Opportunities:

Audience: School Age Youth

Project or Activity: Farm to School

Content or Curriculum: SNAP Snack like a Super Hero, Plate-It-Up

Inputs: Extension Staff, County Homemakers, County Schools & Teachers, School News Broadcast Team, Local producers, Green River Area District Health Dept., Extension Resources, USDA Farm to School program, City & Government Officials

Date: August 2019 – May 2020


Audience: Low-Income Individuals/ Families, Families with Children

Project or Activity: Farmer’s Market (WIC), Children’s Farmer’s Market

Content or Curriculum: Plate-It-Up, SNAP, Food Preservation Programs, Homebased Micro-processing training

Inputs: Extension Staff, Local Producers, County Homemakers, Local Media (Radio, Newspaper, Facebook), Health Care Providers, KDA, KY Proud Produce Availability Sheets

Date: May – August 2020


Audience: Youth and Adults

Project or Activity: Food Preservation Programs

Content or Curriculum: So Easy to Preserve, UK Food Preservation Program and Pubs

Inputs: UK specialist, FCS Agent, Ball Bluebook, Local Media

Date: May-August 2020


Audience: School age children

Project or Activity: Community gardens at schools

Content or Curriculum: ANR Publications, Ready Set Grow

Inputs: ANR/ FCS Agents, KDA, SNAP, Public Schools

Date: April – August 2020


Audience: Home gardeners

Project or Activity: Growing Your Own Vegetables

Content or Curriculum: UK pubs

Inputs: Agents, specialists

Date: Winter 2019-2020


Audience: Homemaker Garden Club

Project or Activity: Home Horticulture 

Content or Curriculum: ANR pubs

Inputs: Extension agents, specialists

Date: Year-round





Success Stories

Improving Access to Healthy Foods

Author: Gregory Comer

Major Program: Accessing Nutritious Foods (general)

The onset of COVID-19 created a new paradigm for many across the U.S and Kentucky. Access to nutritious foods was more limited than it has been since the last World War. Since many people were off work, raising vegetables in a garden became more popular.         To assist local citizens, the Agriculture agents and FCS program Assistant prepared to-go kits on gardening & composting, for local people to pick up at the office, distributed to Food Pantry participants and

Full Story
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