Accessing Nutritious Foods and Making Healthy Lifestyle ChoicesPlan of Work

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Hardin County CES

Title:
Accessing Nutritious Foods and Making Healthy Lifestyle Choices
MAP:
Adopting Healthy Lifestyle Choices for Overall Well-Being
Agents Involved:
Parrett, Aldenderfer, Stillwell, Adams
MAJOR PROGRAM 1:
Get Moving Kentucky (Physical Activity Based Programs)
MAJOR PROGRAM 2:
Mastering Food Choices
MAJOR PROGRAM 3:
Plate It Up! Kentucky Proud
MAJOR PROGRAM 4:
Accessing Nutritious Foods (general)
Situation:
Nutrition Education Programs 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 influencing policies, systems, and environments and in training consumers and producers to maximize local access to food products from farm to table.
Long-Term Outcomes:

Population will increase average fruit and vegetable consumption by 1 or more servings per day

More new mothers attempt to breast feed their babies and increase duration of breastfeeding to six weeks or more

Kentuckians improve food management skills and healthy eating habits

Youth will be food secure when school is not in session

People accessing emergency food sources will select from nutrient dense items


Intermediate Outcomes:

Increase the number of individuals who:

Bring their children to the Farmers' Market to allow them to make food choices

Access more local foods

Redeem Farmer’s Market Nutrition Program benefits

Plant, harvest and preserve produce

Apply improved food preparation skills, food management skills, food safety and healthy eating habits


Number of:

Residents who shop at the Farmers' Market

Youth who consumer fruits and vegetables

Workplaces and other organizations adopt policies supporting new mothers’ attempts to breastfeed

Youth who access other food sources when not in school

Households accessing emergency food sources

Initial Outcomes:

Participants in Cooperative Extension programs will:


Understand the importance of sustainable local agriculture to individual health and financial well-being

Learn to grow, prepare and preserve food

Learn to incorporate unfamiliar foods or foods not currently eaten into a healthy diet

New mothers and those who support them increase knowledge about the health and economic benefits of breastfeeding

Increase knowledge and understanding of healthy eating, food safety and food resource management

Learn about community support services to increase food security

Increase knowledge of local Farmers' Market and the produce and goods available

Increase the amount of physical activity in their daily habits

Evaluation:

Initial Outcome: Learn to grow, prepare and preserve food

Indicator: An increase in knowledge and skills of how to grow, prepare and preserve food. An increase in number of participants who choose to have a garden, cook, and preserve harvest. Increase in number of meals eaten and prepared at home.

Method: Evaluations from packaged curriculums, an increase in number of gardens, report of number of meals eaten at home, increase revenuefor Farmers' market vendors 

Timeline: 0-6 months after education


Intermediate Outcome: Increase in number of individuals who apply improved food preparation skills, food management skills, food safety, and healthy eating habits

Indicator: Reports of participants who feel more comfortable and confident in their ability, increase in number of meals being prepared at home, increase in sales at Farmers Market

Method: Follow up evaluation, Farmers Market sales

Timeline: 6-12 months after education


Long-term Outcome: Increase fruit and vegetable consumption by 1 per day

Indicator: Reports, increase in Farmers Market sales

Method: Follow up evaluation, Farmers Market sales

Timeline: 12-18 months after education

Learning Opportunities:

Audience: SNAP-eligible, low income families and individuals

Project or Activity: Healthy Kids, Super Supper Series, Physical Activity based programs 

Content or Curriculum: Nutrition Education Program, Wellness in Kentucky, Get Moving Kentucky

Inputs: CES agents, SNAP-Ed Nutrition Assistant, CES resources and publications, CES NEP resources and publications

Date: March - August


Audience: General Audience

Project or Activity: Cooking classes, Meats 101 classes, food safety programs, Farmers' Market promotion

Content or Curriculum: Plate It Up! Kentucky Proud, Weight The Reality Series, etc...

Inputs: CES Agents, specialists and volunteers,

Date: October - November, March - June


Audience: General Population

Project or Activity: food preservation programs

Content or Curriculum: Homebased Microprocessing, Food Preservation curriculum

Inputs: CES agents and specialists, CES resources and publications, NCHFP at UGA, So Easy to Preserve, Farmers Market vendors

Date: April - July



Success Stories

POP Club Gets Youth Excited About the Farmers' Market for the Second Year in a Row

Author: Dayna Fentress

Major Program: Youth Fruit & Vegetable Access

In Hardin County, what started as a conversation between the Family and Consumer Sciences agent and the Farmers’ Market board president became a population kids activity that saw over 600 children over the course of the summer. The "Power of Produce (POP) Club" was an interactive taste kitchen and activity center aimed to bring more youth and their parents to the market. With help from the UK School of Human Environmental sciences FCS mini-grant, POP Club was born. POP Club

Full Story

Nutrition Education Program Improves Health Outcomes for Citizens in Hardin County

Author: Chandra DeRamus

Major Program: Making Healthy Lifestyle Choices (general)

Nutrition Education Program Improves Health Outcomes for Citizens in Hardin County

Obesity continues to be an issue across the United States.  According to the State of Obesity organization, Kentucky has the eighth highest obesity rate in the nation.  It was at 34% in 2018.  In addition, Kentucky has the third highest obesity rate for youth who are between the ages of 10 to 17 years old.  As a result, Kentucky State University Cooperative Extension program created a partnership with a community organization called Communicare. Communicare provides behaviori

Full Story

Plate It Up! at the Farmer's Market

Author: Amy Aldenderfer

Major Program: Farmer's Markets

The seven-year collaboration continues between the Hardin County Farmers’ Market, the Hardin County Cooperative Extension Service and the Lincoln Trail Area Master Gardeners.The Master Gardeners provide samples, recipes and information to the shoppers at the Hardin County Farmer’s Market once a month through the growing/selling season. The Master Gardeners prepare two recipes from the Kentucky Proud Plate It Up! Series. Then, pass out samples to the patrons of the Market, encouraging

Full Story
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