Extension
It Starts With Us
Making healthy Lifestyle Choices and Citizen Education
Making Healthy Lifestyle Choices and Citizen Education
Dockery, Doggett, Lindsay, Neal
Faithful Families
Local Food Systems
Business Retention and Expansion
Active Living and Health Promotions General
The obesity epidemic threatens the quality of life years of life of Kentuckians. Obese individuals are at increased risk for many chronic health conditions, including type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and some types of cancers. The obesity rate in Kentucky increased 90% over the last 15 years. Thirty-percent of individuals in the Commonwealth report no leisure-time physical activity. Increased consumption of unhealthy foods, stress, and built environments that promote physical inactivity are largely responsible for the obesity epidemic.
Nutrition education programs, local / home garden, and farmer's markets help families gain access to food and stretch food dollars; communities to decrease hunger; and local food assistance programs to educate recipients on healthy safe food preparation methods, importance of sustainable practices, and improvement of individual/local gardening practices. Citizens receive education on senior issues, parenting and low vision resources. Agents, paraprofessionals, and volunteers are pivotal in training consumers and producers to maximize local access to food products from farm to table.
There are over 9950 children in out of home care, of which 1444 reside in the Southern Bluegrass Region. Substance abuse contributed to 50% of all child abuse and neglect cases. These numbers contribute to the instability of families, communities, social services and economic stability and growth.
Parenting education programs reduce risk factors that are known to contribute to abuse and neglect. Teaching skills like communicating with respect, nurturing parenting, alternatives to spanking, understanding feelings, conflict resolution, ages and stages of development, praising children and their behavior and other parenting skills aid in prevention and reduction of child and neglect.
Increase in the practice and promotion of physical activity and healthy eating.
Improve access and availability of local foods to the community. Provide education and resource availability regarding senior social issues, low visibility and parenting.
Reduce the number of children placed in out of home care.
Reduce the numbers of cases for abuse and neglect
Reduce the recidivism rate of cases of abuse and neglect.
Improve nurturing parenting skills.
Practice of physical activity and healthy food choices in families and communities through decreased time of sedentary behaviors, maintaining appropriate calorie intake, and practicing healthy lifestyle decision-making that strengthen individual’s ability to cope with normal life stressors.
Residents will increase practices related to Community and Economic Development by increased participation in job preparedness programs, involvement in local community events, developing new jobs and entrepreneurship opportunities, and adopting fiscally responsible behaviors
Participants will practice nurturing parenting skills with their children.
Participants will have children returned to home.
Change in awareness, knowledge, opinions, skills, and attitudes towards parenting, discipline, home management and conflict resolution skills.
The practice and promotion of healthy food and nutrition, financial and mental well-being.
Outcome: Long-term Families will be reunited
Indicator: Participants will use alternative to spanking, which reduces the risk of physical abuse. No new cases of abuse or neglect.
Method: Self-reported
Timeline: ongoing
Outcome: Intermediate: No new cases/allegations of abuse or
neglect.
Indicator: Participants will practice using alternatives to spanking, effective communication, conflict resolution and will have appropriate expectations for children.
Method: Self-report
Timeline: ongoing
Outcome: Initial: Change in awareness, knowledge, opinions, skills, and attitudes towards parenting, discipline, home management and conflict resolution skills.
Indicator: Participants will learn to adopt nurturing parenting skills that increase the child’s self-esteem, set age appropriate boundaries and expectations, establish effective communication habits and apply increased knowledge and awareness that was learned.
Method: Weekly Evaluation/Survey, AAPI 1 and AAPI2
Timeline: Ongoing
Audience: Youth
Project or Activity: LEAP
Content or Curriculum: LEAP curriculum
Inputs: Kentucky Cooperative Extension Agents, NEP Program assistants, CES Publications
Date: Ongoing
Audience: Adults
Project or Activity: Physical Activity Programs
Content or Curriculum: Matter of Balance Curriculum, Get Moving Kentucky
Input: KY Cooperative Extension Agents, CES publications, Extension Specialist
Dates: Ongoing
Audience: Adults
Project or Activity: Get Fit Fayette County
Content or Curriculum: Various Curriculums
Input, KY Cooperative Extension Agents, public and private health agencies, non-profit organizations
Dates: Ongoing
Audience: Adults
Project or Activity: Kentucky Plate it Up/ Farmer's Market
Content or Curriculum: Plate it Up Curriculum
Input: KY Cooperative Extension Agents, CES publications, KDA, NEP assistants
Dates: Summer, Fall and Spring
Audience:
Project or Activity: Better Bites
Content or Curriculum: Better Bites Curriculum; Social Marketing and Policy Exploratory Pilot Study
Inputs: Kentucky Cooperative Extension Service Agents, Specialists, Volunteers, CES publications; local, state, and federal agencies.
Date: ongoing
Audience: Adults, Teens & Youth
Project or Activity: Phone calls, e-mails, and office visit customer service opportunities
Content or Curriculum: Available resources through CES publications, specialists, and listed curricula
Inputs: Kentucky Cooperative Extension Service Agents, Program Assistants, Specialists, Volunteers, CES publications; local, state, and federal agencies.
Date: On-Going
Audience: Youth
Project or Activity: Lexington Drug Free Projects
Content or Curriculum: Health Rocks, Drug prevention
Inputs 4-H Agents, 4-H Assistants, FCS Agents, LFUCG, Police Department
Dates: ongoing
Audience: Teens & Youth
Project or Activity: Cooking/Food & Nutrition
Content or curriculum: 4-H curriculum; FCS curriculum; Plate It Up recipes
Inputs: 4-H Agents,4-H assistants, volunteers
Date: day camps, after-school programs
Audience: Teens & Youth
Project or Activity: 4-H Cooking Club(s)
Content or curriculum: 4-H foods curriculum; FCS curriculum; Plate It Up recipes
Inputs: 4-H Agent, volunteers
Date: monthly club meetings and as requested
Audience: Adult and Youth
Project or Activity: SNAP-Ed/ Double dollars
Content or Curriculum: NEP curriculum, CES Publications
Inputs: EFNEP and SNAP Ed assistants, County Extension Agents
Date: On-Going
Audience: Community residents
Project or Activity: Growing Community program
Content or Curriculum: ID-128
Inputs: Volunteers, collaborating agencies, LFUCG, County agents
Date: Annually in May
Audience: Fayette county School Students
Project or Activity: Agriculture Education for Fayette County School Students.
Content or Curriculum: Teach Students about Agriculture and show where food comes from.
Inputs: Leaders, Agents, Fayette County Schools, Locust Trace School.
Date: Spring and Fall.
Audience: Community Residents & Businesses
Project: Local Foods Committee & Coordinator
Content & Curriculum: Collaborating Agencies, LFUCG, Agents, Specialist
Date: All Year
Audience: Fayette County Schools Administration and Board
Project: School Health and Wellness Policy
Content & curriculum: Collaborating Agencies, Specialist and CES curriculum
Date: Ongoing
Audience: Senior Adults
Projects: Challenges of Aging, Grandparents Raising Relatives, Next Best Years
Content and Curriculum: Collaborating Agencies, Specialists, and CES curriculum
Date: ongoing
Audience: Adults
Projects: Food and Nutrition
Content: Food for Thought, Food Preservation, Adult Cooking, Champion Food Volunteers
Date: Ongoing
Audience: Community residents
Project or Activity: Master gardener projects related to food production
Content or Curriculum: Publications
Inputs: volunteers, specialists, county agents
Date: Ongoing
Audience: Community residents
Project or Activity: Growing Community program
Content or Curriculum: ID-128
Inputs: Volunteers, collaborating agencies, LFUCG, County agents
Date: Annually in May
Audience: Adults
Project or Activity: Farmer's Market/Plate it Up
Content or Curriculum: Plate it Up, KY Department of Ag
Inputs: Cooperative Extension Agent, specialists, KDA, Lexington Farmer's Market
Date: On-going
Audience: Adults, Teens & Youth
Project or Activity: Phone calls, e-mails, and office visit customer service opportunities
Content or Curriculum: Available resources through CES publications, specialists, and listed curricula
Inputs: Kentucky Cooperative Extension Service Agents, Program Assistants, Specialists, Volunteers, Kentucky CES publications; local, state, and federal agencies.
Date: On-Going
Audience: Adults
Project or Activity: SKY Families Program
Content or Curriculum: Nurturing Parenting Curriculum
Inputs: Carla Jordan
Date: 6-week sessions. Class meets twice per week for 1 hour and a half.
Audience: Adults
Project or Activity: Plate It Up
Content or Curriculum: Plate it Up
Inputs: EFNEP Assistant
Date: 5 classes per session
Author: Jamie Dockery
Major Program: Local Food Systems
The pandemic has dramatically increased food insecurity in our community. In order to offset some of these impacts we shifted our Extension office demonstration gardens to production mode. We have a small percentage of our Extension Master Gardeners who wanted to volunteer in a safe outdoor capacity. Our gardens became the focus of these efforts. Since mid-March this dedicated group has worked tirelesly to ensure maximum production. They have continually followed harvested crops with successive
Author: Diana Doggett
Major Program: Food Preparation and Preservation
Cooking Through the CalendarOne of the outcomes of the 2020-21 pandemic, was the realization that preparing food at home can be easy, healthy, and sometimes necessary. For many, this concept was either new or not recently practiced. Seeking a means to address this need, Fayette Extension Family and Consumer Sciences provided fun and interactive, virtual food preparation workshops to assist with how and what to prepare for family meals. Cooking Through the Calendar occurs monthl
Author: Jamie Dockery
Major Program: Horticulture, Consumer and Home
As a result of pandemic related issues and work from home arrangements, many of Lexingtons residents developed an interest in gardening. Subsequent ecomonic conditons have led even more people to delve into food production at home. The Fayette County Extension Office adapted by offering more fruit and vegetable topics to our programming the last two years. We often encourage people to put what they have learned into practice by providing seeds or plants for them to plant at home afterwards
Author: Jamie Dockery
Major Program: Economic Development and Workforce Preparation – 4-H Youth Development
Home schooling has become an increasingly popular option as parents seek alternatives to traditional classroom education. These parents are often excellent educators, but may not be experts in all subjects. Many turn to community programs for the additional education and social interactions they provide. While our 4-H program offers a home school club, we do not always consider the value of our many adult oriented extension classes for young people. One resourceful family found numerous educatio
Author: Lucas Powell
Major Program: Family and Consumer Science
Recent years of tough economic times have increased awareness of the need for financial literacy; however, Americans still have a long way to go toward making improvements. In 2014, the Jump$tart Coalition compiled a series of statistics that state that even though youth intend to work and save dollars, more students have increased 36% from the previous years of student and credit card debt. The It's Your Reality Program is designed to teach youth in late middle school to early high school r
Author: Maranda Brooks
Major Program: Cook Together, Eat Together
FCS, EFNEP/SNAP and Food and Nutrition Chair of the Bluegrass Region partnered together to plan, develop and implement a couponing and cooking on a budget for an organization called Young Lives. This organization focuses on young teen mothers here in Fayette County and providing them mentorship, guidance, and life skills as they are navigating motherhood. It was expressed to us by the organization leader, Tanya Lane, that a big priority that the mentors have noticed is a need for class on health
