Extension
It Starts With Us
Healthy Lifestyles
Healthy Lifestyle/Wellness
Alexander, Dunn, Hardy, Heisdorffer, and Potts
Super Star Chef
Plate It Up! Kentucky Proud
Nutrition and Food Systems General
Active Living and Health Promotions General
Due to the increasing trend of chronic disease and obesity in Kentucky, individuals, families, and communities need tools and environments that support healthy and active lifestyle choices. The Daviess County Extension Council met with the Extension Agents to identify programs to reach the needs of Daviess County.
According to Kentuckyhealthfacts.org (2019), 27% of adults 18 years and older in Daviess County were classified as obese and 67% as overweight, which is equivalent to the state percentage. In addition, 29% of individuals in Daviess County reported lack of physical activity and 39% have hypertension. Increased consumption of unhealthy food, stress, and lack of physical activity are largely responsible for the obesity epidemic among adults and youth.
Maintain or improve health, physical activity
Reduce impact of substance abuse
Access to healthy foods
Eat 1 or more fruit and vegetable a day
Plant a garden
Plan a meal, prepare with healthy alternatives
Be physically active for 30 minutes, 3 days/week
Calculate the cost of negative behaviors
Make 1 or more behavior changes to reduce risk of chronic illnesses
Apply stress management practice
Match foods to MyPlate groups
Name 3 ways to be physically active with no money
Recognize consequences of negative behaviors
Discuss long term risks for health
Describe 2 or more ways to reduce stress
List 3 cool-season vegetable crops to plant in the garden
Initial Outcome: able to complete activities during programs and answer post evaluation questions. Increase in knowledge, continuing to attend programs, using healthy recipes.
Indicator: Able to answer questions and complete activities
Method: Oral feedback, paper surveys and activities
Timeline: July 2020 - 2021
Intermediate Outcome: Increase in consumption of fruits and vegetables, put into practice cooking and food safety skills, increased physical activity. Number of individuals reporting increased consumption of fruits and vegetables, utilizing healthier recipes for meals and meal planning, and the number of people increasing daily or weekly physical activity. Increased number of people with own garden, purchasing produce at farmers market, begin trying to discuss mental health.
Indicator: Use of skills in follow up classes/programs, answer post evaluations
Method: follow-up surveys and evaluations, follow-up programs
Timeline: July 2020 - 2021
Long-term Outcome: Improved Health, and healthy choices. Participants report better health, consume more healthy recipes/foods, complete Steps challenges, open discussions among family about health, continue using resources like diabetes support groups, healthy cooking classes and steps challenges, continue gardening and help others.
Indicator: Improved overall health
Method: Observations, inquiry
Timeline: July 2020 - 2021
Audience: Farmers and their families
Project or Activity: Farmers Dinner theater
Content or Curriculum: Kentucky Cattleman’s Association, UK College of Nursing, Extension 4-H, Ag and FCS
Inputs: Ag Agent, Hort agent, FCS agent, 4-H agents
Date: 2021
Audience: Adults
Project or Activity: Steps Challenge and Cooking Classes
Content or Curriculum: Dining with Diabetes, Plate it Up KY Proud, FitBlue App
Inputs: FCS Agent, SNAP Assistant, 4-H Agents
Date: 2021
Audience: Adults with Diabetes
Project or Activity: Diabetes Support Group
Content or Curriculum: Dining with Diabetes, Hospital/Healthpark Diabetes Educator Resources
Inputs: FCS Agent, Diabetes Educator, Healthy Horizons Health Coalition
Date: 2021
Audience: Youth ages 9-15
Project or Activity: Super Star Chef
Content or Curriculum: Super Star Chef Curriculum, SNAP handouts
Inputs: FCS Agents, 4-H Agents, SNAP Assistant
Date: 2021
Audience: Preschool and Kindergarten Age Youth; Youth ages 9-18
Project or Activity: Introduction of various healthy food and snack choices
Content or Curriculum: LEAP (Literacy, Eating, Activity for Primary Youth Health); Healthy Choices monthly bulletin; MyPlate; Better Bites/Snack Strong Program; 4-H Choose Health; 4-H Teen Cuisine
Inputs: FCS Agent, SNAP Assistant, 4-H Agents, 4-H Program Assistant, Extension Volunteers
Date: 2020-2021
Audience: Youth ages 9-18
Project or Activity: Truth & Consequences
Content or Curriculum: Truth & Consequences Approved Curriculum
Inputs: Extension Agents, Extension Volunteers
Date: Spring 2021
Audience: Owensboro Regional Recovery Residents
Project or Activity: Raised Bed Gardening
Content or Curriculum: Home Vegetable Gardening in Kentucky publication
Inputs: Extension Agent
Date:Summer-Fall 2020, Spring-Summer 2021
Audience: General Public
Project or Activity: Home Vegetable Gardening
Content or Curriculum: Home Vegetable Gardening in Kentucky publication
Inputs: Extension Agent, Extension Master Gardeners, Seed Library at the Daviess County Public Library
Date: July-September 2020 and February-April 2021
Audience: Farm Families
Project or Activity: Farm Wellness Dinner Theater
Content or Curriculum: UKHealthcare dinner theater curriculum
Inputs: Dr. Deborah Reed, Extension Specialists
Date: March 2021
Author: Katherine Alexander
Major Program: Active Living and Health Promotions General
Low levels of physical activity, unhealthy nutrition, and poor mental health are all determinants of several chronic diseases. These behaviors are now considered major public health concerns and require effective behavior change interventions. Fit Blue is a community-based campaign to increase physical activity and health awareness in the Commonwealth of Kentucky. Building physical activity into the day does not require special equipment or a certain location. As participants take part in Fit Bl
Author: Katherine Alexander
Major Program: Active Living and Health Promotions General
The COVID-19 Pandemic may have closed our doors temporarily and changed our way of doing programs, but has also opened some new doors to different clientele.A partnership between the Daviess County Cooperative Extension Service and the Daviess County Public Library has led to monthly programs provided by the Family and Consumer Sciences and Horticulture Extension Agents and SNAP assistant, live on the Daviess County Public Library Facebook page and shared to the Daviess County Cooperative Extens
Author: Katherine Alexander
Major Program: Active Living and Health Promotions General
We are over a year into the COVID-19 pandemic and we have reached 520 adults and 580 children through our Grab and Go Kits. Since we were still not able to have in-person programs, we continued the Grab and Go Kits, picking up more partnerships. All Extension Program areas have contributed to some kits, as well as our Daviess County Diabetes Coalition, Healthy Head to Toe health Coalition Sub-committee, Owensboro Health Healthpark and the Green River District Health Department. The kits were giv
Author: Annette Heisdorffer
Major Program: Community Gardens and Horticulture Therapy
Substance use disorder can affect anyone. Daviess County strives to reduce the substance abuse that plagues our communities. The Daviess County Cooperative Extension Service partnered with Owensboro Regional Recovery to conduct a garden therapy program as part of the treatment plan which serves men challenged with drug and alcohol addiction.Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the recovery center was closed to outside visitors, but the Extension Agent for Horticulture Education still provid
Author: Katherine Alexander
Major Program: Plate It Up! Kentucky Proud
The Green River Family and Consumer Sciences Extension Agents presented Plate it up! Kentucky Proud to the area Homemakers by recording it on Zoom, due to COVID. Approximately 75 homemakers viewed the video for their lesson.After the program, ninety-five percent increased their knowledge of retail outlets for locally grown food commodities; and sixty percent increased their knowledge regarding how the Plate it up! Kentucky Proud program is a consumer education partnership. Seventy-f
Author: Katherine Alexander
Major Program: Food Preparation and Preservation
Daviess County Family and Consumer Sciences Extension Agent offered a Basics of Canning workshop to four individuals who have never canned. One-hundred percent of the participants identified research-based methods of home food preservation as a result of the program. Following a pretest and the program, one-hundred percent of the participants could differentiate between high and low acid foods on the post-test. One-hundred percent identified signs of unsealed jars and signs of spoilage in home c
