Webster County CES

Title:

Nutrition from the Ground Up

MAP:

Improve Physical and Mental Health

Agents Involved:

Raymer, Shadrick

MAJOR PROGRAM 1:

Plate It Up! Kentucky Proud

MAJOR PROGRAM 2:

Health

MAJOR PROGRAM 3:

LEAP

MAJOR PROGRAM 4:

Nutrition and Food Systems 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.In addition to accessing nutritious foods, it is important that our youth is exposed to nutritious foods through our programs that they may not have otherwise tried or known about. 

Long-Term Outcomes:

• Clientele will become familiar with Plate It Up KY Proud recipes and increase purchasing produce and meats at the Webster County Farmers' Market
• Routinely employ healthy dietary practices that promote health and wellness (e.g. consume recommended daily fruits and vegetables and improve food management skills)
• Reduce the rate of chronic disease and obesity
• Clientele will improve food management skills and healthy eating habits.
• Our population will increase average fruit and vegetable consumption by 1 or more servings per day.

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
• Access more local foods and prepare Plate It Up recipes and shop more at Farmers Markets.
• Apply improved food preparation skills, food management skills, food safety and healthy eating habits.

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

Evaluation:

Outcome:  Nutrition knowledge, skills, and competencies

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 surveys; specific curricula or program evaluations

Timeline:  Pre-post implementing curricula or program

Outcome: Preparing and preserving food 

Indicator:  Number of individuals who reported: preparing more home-cooked meals; modifying ingredients and/or preparation techniques to improve nutrition

Method: Self-report survey; specific curricula or program evaluations

Timeline:  Pre-post implementing curricula or program

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 curricula or program

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 or backyard gardens, fishing, hunting, farmers markets); dollar value of vendor-reported sales or EBT, WIC, or Senior benefits redeemed at farmers’ markets; number of pints of foods preserved through water bath canning, pressure canning, freezing, or drying. 

Method: Self-report survey

Timeline:  Pre-post implementing curricula or program

I

Learning Opportunities:

Audience: Communities

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, facilities, Kentucky Department of Agriculture

Date: April – October/Growing seasons

Project or Activity:  Policy, Systems, and Environmental Approaches

Content or Curriculum: Faithful Families, Kentucky Farm to School Task Force Resources, Health Coalitions, resources for early care and education settings

Inputs: Volunteers, grant funds, faith-based organizations, community partners, key stakeholders, SNAP-Ed Toolkit 

Date: Ongoing projects throughout the year

Audience: Families and Individuals

Project or Activity:  Food Preparation for Better Health

Content or Curriculum: Mastering Food Choices, Dining with Diabetes, Super Star Chef, Plate It Up! Kentucky Proud Resources, LEAP

Inputs: Programmatic materials, paid staff, community partners, health coalitions

Date: Ongoing projects throughout the year

Project or Activity:  Food Preservation

Content or Curriculum: Publications, Trainings, Home-Based Micro-Processing Training

Inputs: Paid staff, volunteers, facilities, programmatic materials

Date: July – September for adults and youth

Audience: Beef producers and consumers, farmers, families

Project or Activity: Pasture to Plate and More

Content or Curriculum: Beef it’s What’s for Dinner from Kentucky Beef Council, Extension Publications on food safety, USDA

Inputs: Extension Specialists, Agents, KBN, Cattleman’s Association

Date:Spring

Audience: Preschoolers

Project or Activity: LEAP

Content or Curriculum: LEAP, CES publications

Inputs: Agent, Program assistant, school teachers

Date: School year

Audience: Adults and children

Project or Activity: Ag Expo, Taste testing in the community, farmers market, food bank and schools, What’s Cooking Classes, POP Club at farmers market, PIU recipe challenge

Content or Curriculum: Plate It Up KY Proud, SNAP publications, calendars, food preservation and food safety publications, curriculum/resources for POP club

Inputs: Agents, Family Resource Coordinator, community partners such as but not limited to local banks, KY Farm Bureau and County Extension Office

Date: All year

Audience: Adults that receive food from food pantry

Project or Activity: Lessons on food preparation, stretching food and food dollars

Content or Curriculum: SNAP materials, UK financial publications, PIU recipes

Inputs: Agent, assistant, food bank director

Date: All year

Success Stories