Extension
It Starts With Us
Healthy & Safe Food Prep Methods; Farm-to-table; Farmer's Market; SNAP; Gardening; Food Dollars
Accessing Nutritious Foods
Gary Druin, 4-H Agent; Greg Comer, ANR Agent; Nan Montgomery, FCS Agent
Nutrition and Food Systems General
Horticulture, Consumer and Home
Food Preparation and Preservation
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.
The ever changing landscape of the family and consumer highlights the need for a responsive and innovative FCS and 4-Hprograms by providing the basic needs through working with youth and families in a variety of situations to increase their consumer awareness, financial management, nutrition, culinary arts, and human development.
•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
*Be responsible and contributing individuals and family members and contribute to a safe and healthy home and community.
•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
*Youth will practice responsible consumer and financial decision making
•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
*Gain knowledge and skills in the 4-H Family and Consumer Sciences projects and programs
*4-H Youth will learn to read and follow instructions and understand the decision making process.
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: Youth who engage in 4-H Family and Consumer Science project work
Indicator: Completion of a 4-H Family and Consumer Science project
Method: 4-H Common Measures Survey,
Timeline: May - August
Evaluation:
Outcome: Increase in low income families growing their own garden
Indicator: Increase in Food Bank participants & Hispanic families utilizing garden seed packets
Method : Survey of Food Banks participants & Hispanic families
Timeline: Fall 2023
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 2023 – May 2024
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 2023
Audience: School age children
Project or Activity: Community gardens at schools
Content or Curriculum: ANR Publications, Ready Set Grow
Inputs: ANR, KDA, SNAP, Public Schools
Date: April – August 2023
Audience: Home gardeners
Project or Activity: Growing Your Own Vegetables
Content or Curriculum: UK pubs & Victory garden curriculum
Inputs: Agents, specialists
Date: Winter 2023-2024
Audience: 4-H Chef Club, 4-H School Clubs, Summer Migrant Program
Project or Activity: 4-H Food Preparation & Nutrition
Content or Curriculum: Super Star Chef, 4-H Cooking, Jump into Food and Fitness, National 4-H Food Curriculum, Exploring MyPlate,
Inputs: Extension agents and staff, 4-H/FCS Specialists, 4-H Volunteers
Date: Year-round
Audience: Senior Center
Project or Activity: Health Education
Content or Curriculum: Healthy Choices for Everybody, Senior Citizens Center Garden
Inputs: FCS & ANR Agent
Date: Year-round
Audience: Food Bank Participants & Hispanic families
Project or Activity: Garden Packet Program
Content or Curriculum: SNAP, U.K. ,& KSU gardening resources
Inputs: ANR
Date: March thru Oct. 2024
Author: Nan Montgomery
Major Program: Agritourism Planning
According to the Kentucky Department of Agriculture, more than 50 percent of Kentucky's land is used for agricultural pursuits. Youth Agricultural Days is a program led by the Ohio County Extension Agents to educate 4th-grade students about the importance of Agriculture within the community. Throughout the day, 200 students visited 11 stations with information related to Agriculture, like "The Journey from Farm to Table", "Chicken or the Egg," "Farm Safety,
Author: Gregory Comer
Major Program: Nutrition and Food Systems General
Increasing cost of food and access to a consistent supply of nutritious foods has become a challenge across the U.S and Kentucky. To support Ohio County’s limited resource citizens in attaining nutritious vegetables, the ANR agent again provided garden kits, to the Hartford & Fordsville Food Banks, but also assisted the Senior Citizens Program in Ohio Co. with their raised bed garden, by expanding the number of beds available for produce. Garden Kits:The garden kits contained
Author: Gregory Comer
Major Program: Nutrition and Food Systems General
Nutritious food is an essential part of a healthy lifestyle for children. With children in need of specific nutrients to support their growth and development, 1 in 3 (32.1%) children did not eat a daily fruit and nearly half (49.1%) did not eat a daily vegetable, according to a 2023 Center for Disease Control report. To address this issue, the Ohio County Extension Service collaborated with the Beaver Dam Community Famers Market and Ohio County Health Care to host “Kids Day
