Extension
It Starts With Us
Accessing Nutritious Foods 1
Healthy Lifestyles
Corinne Belton, Regina Browning, Sheila Fawbush
Local Food Systems
Home & Consumer Horticulture
Health 4-H Core Curriculum
Nutrition education programs and local food systems help families gain access to food and stretch food dollars, help communities decrease hunger, and help local food assistance programs to educate recipients on healthy and safe food preparation methods. Agents, paraprofessionals and volunteers are pivotal in influencing policies, systems and environments and in training consumers and producers to maximize local access to food products from farm to table.
Demand for home horticulture information continues to increase in Shelby County. Shelby County Master Gardener trained volunteers are able to assist county Extension staff in meeting this need for research-based information and public outreach.
*Families will increase their consumption of fruits and vegetables
*Families will gain access to food and stretch food dollars
*Access to local foods in restaurants, retail outlets, schools and other institutions is increased
*Consumer confidence in and demand for local foods is maintained or increased
*The public has a positive perception of EMG volunteers as reliable sources for home horticulture information.
*EMG Volunteers extend the educational outreach of the Cooperative Extension Service in areas such as community gardens, youth gardening, environmentally sustaining lawn and garden practices, and other topics
*Increase number of people who access local foods
*Increase number of youth and adults who plant, harvest and/or preserve produce
*Hunger is decreased
*Producers diversify types and varieties of produce grown and sold
*Producers apply food safety practices and/or procedures
*Producers earn certification for Home Based Microprocessing and USDA GAP
*Participants (certified EMG volunteers) put into practice the skills learned when completing volunteer hours and working with clientele
*Participants engage as facilitators and presenters for classes, lectures, or workshops delivered
*EMG volunteers have positive perceptions of their role as reliable sources for home horticulture information
*Increase KOSA in healthy eating, food safety and food resource management
*Increase awareness of availability of fresh, local produce
*Increase KOSA in growing food
*Increase food safety handling procedures
*Understand procedures for safe food processing
*Identify production methods and agricultural food products that extend the growing season
*Explain local food needs and purchasing procedures
*Participants gain knowledge in many aspects of home horticulture. This is measured through regular quizzes
*Participants become Certified EMG volunteers when they master the curriculum and provide 30 hours in volunteer service to the local Cooperative Extension Office.
Initial Outcome: Increase KOSA in understanding sustainable, local agriculture to individual health and financial well-being. Increase KOSA in planting, harvesting and preserving foods.
Indicator: Number who gained KOSA in understanding sustainable, local agriculture to individual health and financial well-being. Increase KOSA in planting, harvesting and preserving foods.
Method: End of program evaluations and self-reporting
Timeline: Annually
Intermediate Outcome: Individuals access more local foods. Individuals plant, harvest and/or preserve their own food. Individuals apply improved food preparation, management and food safety skills. Individuals share new KOSA with others as EMG volunteers.
Indicator: Number of individuals purchasing, planting, harvesting and/or preserving, preparing local foods safely. Number of EMG sharing KOSA with others.
Method: End-of-program surveys, observation
Timeline: Annually
Long-term Outcome: Individuals and institutions seek first to utilize locally grown foods. EMG assist Extension personell in teaching hort programs and answering questions.
Indicator: Number of individuals and institutions who utilize locally grown foods. Number of EMG assisting with Extension programming
Method: Self-reporting and observation
Timeline: Year-to-year over next decade
Audience: Home Gardeners
Project or Activity: USDA GAP Training
Content or Curriculum: GAP Guidelines
Inputs: GAP Guidelines, UK GAP video, KDA information
Date: Year Round
Audience: Home Gardeners
Project or Activity: Fruit Trees and Vegetable Demonstration Plot
Content or Curriculum: UK Publications, variety trials
Inputs: UK Publications
Date: May - August 2017
Audience: General Public
Project or Activity: Master Gardener Classes
Content or Curriculum: Master Gardener curriculum, guest speakers, Extension publications
Inputs: MG curriculum, guest speakers, Extension publications, specialists, horticulture technician
Date: Spring & Summer 2017
Audience: General Public
Project or Activity: Food Gardening Classes
Content or Curriculum: MG curriculum, guest speakers, Extension publications, field trips to local gardens
Inputs: MG curriculum, guest speakers, Extension publications, specialists and horticulture technician
Date: Feb-April 2018
Audience: General Public
Project or Activity: Garden Tours
Content or Curriculum: MG Curriculum, guest speakers, Extension publications
Inputs: MG Curriculum, guest speakers, Extension publications, specialists, horticulture technician
Date: Summer/Fall 2017
Audience: General Public
Project or Activity: Green Thumb Gardening Classes
Content or Curriculum: MG curriculum, guest speakers, Extension publications
Inputs: MG Curriculum, guest speakers, Extension publications, specialists, horticulture technician
Date: June - September 2017
Audience: School Gardens
Project or Activity: Butterfly Garden
Content or Curriculum: Specialists, agents, Extension publications, guest speakers
Inputs: Specialists, agents, Extension publications, guest speakers
Date: Summer 2017, Spring 2018
Audience: Local producers
Project or Activity: Rooted in Shelby
Content or Curriculum: Kentucky Proud certification, application
Inputs: Kentucky Proud, agent, volunteers
Date: Year Round
Audience: 4-H School Clubs
Project or Activity: Windowsill Gardening
Content or Curriculum: 4-H Curriculum, Gardening information
Inputs: seeds, trays, educational materials
Date: April 2018
Author: Regina Browning
Major Program: Family and Consumer Sciences 4-H Core Curriculum
The Shelby County 4-H Council identified culinary programs as an excellent way to engage local youth and teach them important skills that they can use throughout their lives. Good habits, new skills and practices taught at an early age tend to become routine and adopted practices as adults. Shelby County 4-H offered a four part cooking series to educate youth on important culinary skills, food safety principles, and the use of local foods. The course included recipes, cooking m
Author: Sheila Fawbush
Major Program: Making Healthy Lifestyle Choices (general)
The prevalence of obesity in America has been an ongoing and increasing issue. In Kentucky, 30% of adults are obese, while Shelby County has a 30.9% obesity rate. The low-income preschool obesity rates are alarming as well, with 21.3% of children being overweight or obese in Shelby County, and 15.9% of children being overweight and obese in the entire state. According to Kentucky Health News in early 2014, only 23% of Kentuckians consume the recommended 5 or more servings a day of fruits and veg
