Extension
It Starts With Us
To encourage individuals, families and communities to make proactive choices to improve health and wellness
Making Healthy Lifestyle Choices
B. Cheirs, A. McCoy, B. Rudy
Faithful Families
4-H Health Core Curriculum
Promoting Healthy Homes and Communities (general)
Plate It Up! Kentucky Proud
The obesity epidemic threatens the quality and 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 percent over the last 15 years. Thirty percent of individuals in the Commonwealth report no leisure-time physical activity. Increased consumption of unhealthy food, stress, and built environments that promote physical inactivity are largely responsible for the obesity epidemic. As a result, Kentuckians are dying from heart disease and cancer at higher rates than all Americans and they have a lower life expectancy, 75.5 years, compared to 78 years for Americans.
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 training consumers and producers to maximize local access to food products from farm to table.
-A decrease in the number of obese and overweight children, youth, adults and elderly
-Increase in the practice and promotion of physical activity and healthy eating daily
-Improvement in the mental health and well-being of Kentuckians
-Manage and prevent the risk, debilitation, and premature death related to diabetes, cancer, heart disease, stroke and hypertension
-Increase the estimated health savings in dollars for chronic disease.
-Kentucky population will increase average fruit and vegetable consumption by 1 or more servings per day
-Practice healthy food choices and strengthen individuals’ ability to build healthy eating plans and patterns.
-Maintain appropriate calorie balance during each stage of life: childhood, adolescence, adulthood, pregnancy and breastfeeding and older age
-Practice of physical activity in families and communities and decreased time spent on sedentary behaviors
-Strengthen community coalitions or partnerships to address obesity, physical inactivity and chronic disease.
-Access more local foods
-Plant, harvest and preserve produce
-Apply improved food preparation skills, food management skills, food safety and healthy eating habits
-Participants will learn the difference between portion sizes and serving sizes
-Participants will understand the relationship between mental health and physical health
-Participants will learn to prepare a healthy snack
-Participants will gain knowledge of the relationship between disease and weight
-Participants will learn how to read food labels
-Participants will understand relationship between caloric intake and energy output
-Participants will learn that fitness can be fun while being healthy
-Participants will understand health related terminology (i.e. BMI, etc.)
-Participants will increase knowledge of the benefits of physical activity
-Participants will understand the importance of sustainable local agriculture to individual health and financial well-being
-Participants will learn to grow, prepare and preserve food
-Participants will learn to incorporate unfamiliar foods or foods not currently eaten into a healthy diet
-Participants will increase knowledge and understanding of healthy eating, food safety and food resource management
Long-Term Outcome: Individuals and families improve their quality of life by consuming healthy foods and increasing physical activity.
Indicator: Increase fruit and vegetable consumption to at least 75% of RDA, 30 minutes of activity at least 4 days a week.
Method: Written survey of sample of program participants
Timeline:12 - 15 months following educational activities during this 4-year Plan of Work
Intermediate Outcome: Apply improved food preparation skills, food management skills, food safety and healthy eating habits.
Indicator: Demonstrate proper measuring and cooking techniques, follow food safety procedures.
Method: Observe at hands-on workshops
Timeline: During educational lessons
Initial Outcome: Increase knowledge of the relationship of food, activity and health
Indicator: Understand that calorie intake and output effect body weight, identify healthy food choices
Method: Oral or written survey
Timeline: End of lesson
Audience: Farmers Market Clientele
Project or Activity: Taste Testing of Locally Grown Foods
Content or Curriculum: Plate It Up
Inputs: Farmers Market, Plate it Curriculum, Agents, Assistants
Date: July-October 2018-2020
Audience: General Public
Project or Activity: Food Preservation Programs
Content or Curriculum: Food Preservation Publications and Training
Inputs: Agent, Ball Home Canning resources
Date: Summer 2020
Audience: Preschoolers
Project or Activity: LEAP for Preschoolers
Content or Curriculum: LEAP
Inputs: Preschools of county
Date: Fall and Spring 2018-2020
Audience: General Public/Low income families
Activity: Group meetings, home visits, youth groups, school enrichment
Content or Curriculum: NEP
Inputs: SNAP-Ed Assistant, Senior Citizens Center, Housing Authority,
Date: All year
Audience: Community Health Fairs
Activity: Banana Festival Health Fair and Hickman Health Fair - booths, doctors
Content or Curriculum: Ask-A-Doc informational speakers, educational booths
Inputs: AHEC, local healthcare community, Housing Authority, Health Department
Date: Fall 2019 and Spring 2020
Audience: Extension Homemakers
Activity: Leader training, workshops,
Content: NEP, FCS Publications, HEEL program, Plate It Up
Inputs: Extension resources, eXtension, other university's Extension resources, USDA, Specialist
Date: Various Times in 2019-2020
Audience: Fulton County and Fulton City Schools
Activity: 8 week school enrichment
Content or Curriculum: Professor Popcorn
Date: Fall 2018-2020
Audience: Fulton County and Fulton City Schools
Activity: The Great Adventurers
Content or Curriculum: The Great Garden Detectives, Dig In, Growing Healthy Kids
Date: Summer/Fall of program year
Inputs: Extension Agents, FFA
Audience: Fulton County and Fulton City Schools
Activity: Truth or Consequences: The Choice is Yours
Content or Curriculum: Truth or Consequences program materials, Local Statistics
Date: Winter 2020
Inputs: Extension Agents, Schools, Fulton-Hickman ASAP Council, Four Rivers Behavior Health, Hospitals, Health Department, Local Government
Audience: Fulton County and Fulton City Schools
Activity: Germbusters- Hand washing Program
Content or Curriculum: HEEL resources, Wally Cat, USDA, etc.
Date: Winter/Spring 2018-2020
Inputs: Extension Agents, Schools, Health Department, And Family Resource Centers
Audience: Adults
Activity: Senior Citizens Lessons on Nutrition and Safety
Content or Curriculum: Various UK Curricula
Date: Year 19-20
Inputs: Extension Staff, Senior Citizen Center and Staff
Audience: 4-H Age
Project or Activity: Bee Pollinator program
Content or Curriculum: Bee Curriculum
Inputs: Bee School, Bees for Dummy, Mini Ag Grant, Ashley Asborne
Date: Summer 2019-2020
Audience: 4-H Age
Project or Activity: Cooking
Content or Curriculum: Super Star Chef, 4-H Breads
Inputs: Homemaker, FCS, 4-H
Date: throughout school year
Audience: 4-H Age
Project or Activity: Afterschool physical activity
Content or Curriculum: SPARK Curriculum, Yoga, 4-H Fitness
Inputs: Community Leaders, Schools, Teen Club
Date: 2018-2020
Author: Anna Morgan
Major Program: Stories, Songs, and Stretches
According to the 2017 Early Childhood Profile, only 39% of children in Fulton County are ready for kindergarten. “School-readiness” is a broad term that refers to multiple precursor cognitive, physical, and social-emotional skills that indicate young children are prepared to learn and thrive in the school environment. Children who start kindergarten with delayed development and fewer assets are by far more likely to repeat grades, get tracked into lower-tier classes and drop o
Author: Bernita Cheirs
Major Program: Community Engagement
On September 23rd, the Fulton County 4-H Agent, Fulton County Schools Family Resource Youth Service Center, and City of Hickman collaborated together to host the fifth annual Family Day event. CASA Family Day is a national program sponsored by the Center for Substance Abuse which encourages parental engagement. Research shows that children with hands-on parents are far less likely to smoke, drink or use other drugs. Through funds provided by the Fulton County-Hickman County ASAP council, we
Author: Bernita Cheirs
Major Program: Truth and Consequences: The Choice is Yours
Kentucky has one of the highest rates of drug abuse in our country; we fall in one of the top ten states in several drug use categories (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2016). According to new KIP data, marijuana use among 10th graders is showing an upward trend. Therefore, there is a strong need for substance abuse prevention and intervention for our youth. The Fulton County Extension Agent for 4-H Youth Development and Family and Consumer Science partnered with the Youth Ser
