Extension
It Starts With Us
Making Healthy Lifestyle Choices
Family and Consumer Sciences
Katelyn Traughber
Food Preparation and Preservation
Nutrition and Food Systems General
Active Living and Health Promotions General
Family Development General
A foundations of nutrition knowledge, skills and competencies in topics such as Food safety, handling and preparation, cooking methods and techniques, feeding practices, food science, and food systems are essential to changing dietary behaviors. With the increased trend of chronic disease and obesity in Kentucky, individuals, families and communities need tools and environments that support healthful dietary decisions. CES agents are encouraged to reach diverse audiences to help combat chronic disease and obesity in Kentucky communities.
- Routinely employ healthy dietary practices that promote health and wellness (e.g. consume recommended daily fruits and vegetables and improve food management skills).
- Green County will increase in the practice and promotion of physical activity and healthy eating.
- Green County will see an improvement in the built environment to promote physical activity and healthy eating.
- Green County will see an improvement in the mental health and well-being of Kentuckians.
- Generate positive attitudes toward changing dietary decisions to be more healthful.
- Increase intake of fruits, vegetables, and other nutrient dense foods.
- Decrease intake of solid fats, added sugars, and sodium.
- Employ healthful cooking methods, feeding practices, and food preservation techniques.
- Increased access to healthy food via local farmers markets, food retailers, and/or home gardens.
- Increase awareness about relationships between food and nutrition practices and chronic disease.
- Improve food and nutrition-related skills (e.g. Gardening, preparation and preservation techniques, safe food handling, food resource management).
- Increase confidence in ability to employ healthy eating practices.
- Increase motivation to access and prepare healthier foods.
Initial Outcome: Dietary Intake
Indicator: Number of individuals who reported: eating 4-6 servings of fruits and/or vegetables daily.
Method: Self-report surveys about fruit and vegetable intake or other dietary improvements; specific curricula or program evaluations.
Timeline: Pre-post implementing programs.
Initial Outcome: Availability and access to healthy food
Indicator: Number of individuals who reported: utilizing delivery systems/access points (e.g. farmers’ markets, CSAs, WIC, food pantries) that offer healthy foods; supplementing diets with healthy foods grown or preserved (e.g. Community backyard gardens, fishing, hunting, farmers markets); dollar value of vendor-reported sales or EBT, WIC, or Senior benefits redeemed at farmer’s markets; number of pints of foods preserved through water bath canning, pressure caning, freezing or drying.
Method: Self-report survey
Timeline- Pre-post implementing program
Intermediate Outcome: Preparing and preserving food
Indicator: Number of individuals who reported: use knowledge and skills to improve food-shopping management; utilize the food label to make healthy food choices; choosing smaller portions; increased food preservation knowledge; demonstrated recommended food preservation practices.
Method: Self-report survey; specific curricula or program evaluations.
Timeline: Pre-post implementing programs
Audience: Community
Project or Activity: Farmers Market Outreach
Content or Curriculum: Cooking programs, marketing, increased access (e.g. location, hours, EBT), Plate It Up! Kentucky Proud resources, Farmers Market Toolkit, Super Star Chef
Inputs: Nutrition Education Program (NEP), paid staff, grant funds, Kentucky Department of Agriculture
Date: April-October/ Growing Season
Audience: General Public
Project or Activity: Physical Activity
Content or Curriculum: Publications, Faithful Families, Story Walk, Master Health Volunteer, Shared Space Agreements, Health Coalitions, Be More, Fit Blue, WIN, Health Partner, Bingocize, Keys to Embracing Aging, Couch Potato Challenge.
Inputs: Volunteers, facilities, health coalitions, Healthcare Providers, Health Department, Non-profits, Schools. Homemakers, Community Centers.
Date: Periodically each year
Audience: General Public
Project or Activity: Food Preservation
Content or Curriculum: Publications, Trainings, Home-Based Micro-Processing Training, Champion Food Volunteers
Inputs: Paid Staff, volunteers, facilities, programmatic materials, NEP.
Date: July-September for adults and youth
Audience: Families and Individuals
Project or Activity: Food Preparation for Better Health
Content or Curriculum: Cook Together Eat Together, Mastering Food Choices, Dining with Diabetes, Super Star Chef, Champion Food Volunteer, Faithful Families, plans for prenatal- and infant/toddler-specific curriculum, resources for early care and education setting.
Inputs: Programmatic materials, community partners, faith-based organizations, health coalitions.
Date: Ongoing projects throughout the year
Audience: Kentucky Extension Homemakers Association Volunteers
Project or Activity: Promoting Healthy Lifestyle Choices
Content or Curriculum: Master Health Volunteers, Health Bulletins, Monthly Leader Lessons
Inputs: Volunteers, paid staff, community partners
Date: Monthly
Author: Katelyn Squires
Major Program: LEAP
According to, The Partnership for a Fit Kentucky “16.3% of children between the ages of pre-school and kindergarten are considered overweight”. Because of this statistic Green County Family and Consumer Sciences Extension partnered with Green County Head Start and Little Lambs Preschool to offer a maximum of forty-nine preschool aged children the LEAP curriculum each month. This program consists of learning about Literacy, Nutrition, and Physical activities. Each month since Sep
Author: Katelyn Squires
Major Program: Food Preparation and Preservation
In Kentucky, 12.9 million acres are utilized in formal farm operations (nass.usda.gov), with a growing usage of smaller properties being used to grow farm commodities. Green, Adair, and Russell counties, as rural counties, have a growing population that utilizes property to grow their own crops, then processes the crops for personal consumption. Canning, a method of food preservation, was taught by the Russell, Adair, and Green County Family and Consumer Science Agents to instruct on proper food
Author: Katelyn Squires
Major Program: Nutrition and Food Systems General
According to the Green County (United States) Census from 2017-2021, 23.5% of Green County residents under the age of 65 years have a disability. This percentage is significantly higher than in Kentucky which stands at 13.2%. Just Family Adult Day Health is an organization that provides services for elders and other adults with medical and rehabilitative needs to make friends, increase independence, and receive daily living support. The Green County Family and Consumer Sciences Agent partnered w
