Green County CES

Title:

Making Healthy Lifestyle Choices

MAP:

Family and Consumer Sciences

Agents Involved:

Katelyn Traughber

MAJOR PROGRAM 1:

Food Preparation and Preservation

MAJOR PROGRAM 2:

Nutrition and Food Systems General

MAJOR PROGRAM 3:

Active Living and Health Promotions General

MAJOR PROGRAM 4:

Family Development General

Situation:

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.

Long-Term Outcomes:

• 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. 

Intermediate Outcomes:

• 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.  

Initial Outcomes:

• 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.

Evaluation:

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 

Learning Opportunities:

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 

Success Stories

LEAP in Green County

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

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2023 Food Preservation Workshop

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

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Cooking with Independence

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

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