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. Morgan, B. Rudy
Active Living and Health Promotions General
Health
LEAP
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: April-October monthly
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 2024
Audience: Preschoolers, Kindergarten and 1st Grade
Project or Activity: LEAP for Preschoolers
Content or Curriculum: LEAP
Inputs: Preschools of county
Date: Fall and Spring 2023-2024
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 2023
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 2023-2024
Audience: Fulton County and Fulton City Schools
Activity: 8 week school enrichment
Content or Curriculum: Professor Popcorn
Date: Fall 2023
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 2023
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 2023-2024
Inputs: Extension Agents, Schools, Health Department, And Family Resource Centers
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 Osborne (State Office)
Date: Summer 2023
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: Spring & Summer
Audience: Fulton County residents
Project or Activity: Longest Day of Play
Content or Curriculum: UK Publications, eXtension.
Inputs: Agents, FRYSC, volunteers, and community partners
Date: Summer 2024
Audience: Adults
Project or Activity: Cooking through the Calendar
Content or Curriculum: SNAP Calendars, FCS Publications and Healthy Choices for Everybody Curriculum
Inputs: Agents, Community Partners, UK Specialist
Date: 2023-2024
Audience: Senior Citizens
Project or Activity: Senior Citizen Nutrition Programs
Content or Curriculum: USDA Choose My Plate, Healthy Choices for Everybody, Plate It Up, various nutrition topics
Inputs: Senior Centers
Date: 2023-2024 (monthly)
Audience: School Age 0-18
Project or Activity: Food Explorers Cooking Club, LEAP, Try It Days, Recipes for Life and Edible Rainbows
Content or Curriculum: SNAP-Ed materials, Super Star Chef, Plate It Up, various Extension publications
Inputs: Agents and volunteers
Date: School year
Author: Anna Morgan
Major Program: Active Living and Health Promotions General
According to the American Camp Association, “The camp experience is recognized by child development professionals as valuable in helping children mature socially, emotionally, intellectually, morally, and physically. Camp participants learn to problem-solve, make social adjustments to new and different people, learn responsibility, and gain new skills to increase their self-esteem." Summer day camp has so many benefits such as keeping youth unplugged, out of trouble, in a safe l
Author: Anna Morgan
Major Program: Nutrition and Food Systems General
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 60% of children do not consume enough fruit in their diet, and 93% do not eat enough vegetables. To get more families involved in buying fresh local produce and educate youth about eating health, the Fulton County Family and Consumer Sciences partnered with the Fulton Farmers Market and The City of Fulton to host a Kids Day at the Farmers Market. The program was a hit among children and their parents. If kids came to the farmers
Author: Anna Morgan
Major Program: Nutrition and Food Systems General
Spring into Green: Pride of Kentucky was hosted by the Purchase Area Family and Consumer Science agents at the McCracken County Extension Office. Speakers at this year’s event discussed topics related to the Kentucky. Topics discussed focused on local food produce and local pollinators. Speakers included Dava Hayden, horticulture instructor and arboretum manager at Murray State University. LaToya Drake, University of Kentucky Cooperative Extension Service as the Program Coordinator with th
