Author: Ruth Chowning
Major Program: Youth Fruit & Vegetable Access
Kentucky has one of the highest prevalence for pediatric obesity in the nation. Approximately 38% of Kentucky children ages 10-17 years are considered overweight or obese according to BMI-for-age standards. Half of Kentucky’s children in poor families are overweight or obese. Children in Kentucky are less likely than their counterparts, nationwide, to be physically active for at least 4 days per week, and more likely to spend 2 hours or more in front of a television or computer screen. Acc
Author: Hazel Jackson
During the Spring, the second grade curriculum has a unit on MyPlate. 2 schools requested that the FCS agent assist teachers in presenting the unit. The FCS agent taught MyPlate in a total of 8 second grade classrooms 162 students were present for the classes. In the classes, eating a variety of foods was on of the tips for health that was stressed. In the second session, students sampled 5 fruits that they might not have had before. During follow-up questions after
Author: Vicki Wynn
Kentucky kids consistently rank low in consuming fruits and vegetables. The Super Star Chef Cooking Camp (SSCCC) teaches hands-on nutrition, healthy eating, and basic cooking skills. Campers learn that healthy eating can be fun, taste good, and improve overall health. Forty children in Marshall County have participated in camp during the past two summers, and reports from parents and families have been overwhelmingly positive. One dad remarked, "Our son loves to help in the kitchen, and he
Author: Danielle Ford
Each month as I travel into classroom after classroom, and I always come away with learning something new. To start out, I introduce a new book to read to the Head Start participants, preschool, kindergarten, first grade and second grade students. Then we have to get all of our wiggles out by teaching them some new exercises to get them moving. And lastly we sample a new fruit or vegetable. With the food lesson we turn it into a science lesson and the children make observations about the fruit/v
Author: Audrey Myers
According to the most recent Kentucky Parent Survey (2012), about 1 in 7 parents (14%) said their child got enough fruits and vegetables on 5 or 6 days during the week. KIDS COUNT Data Snapshot finds that about two-thirds (64 percent) of Kentucky children are not meeting an important benchmark: reading at grade level at the start of fourth grade. In addition, Kentucky is one of only 12 states where the reading proficiency gap between students from higher- and lower-income families widened
Author: Katherine Jury
Hopkins County ranks 4th highest in the state for childhood obesity, and 53th out of 120 counties for overall health outcomes. One important factor that contributes to obesity and health outcomes is healthy eating. In an effort to combat these problems, the Hopkins County Extension Agent for Family & Consumer Science, in partnership with the SNAP-Ed. Assistant, Hopkins County Agents for 4-H and Youth Development, Hopkins County Agent for Horticulture, the Hopkins County Health Department, an
Author: Janey Cline
Hart County is a rural community located in central. In 2012, there were 1,372 farm operations on 182,385 acres. In the 2013 USDA’s Food Atlas Hart County’s free lunch eligibility was 5% above the Kentucky participate rate and nearly 10% above the national participate rate. While living in a rural community has its advantages it also presents struggles for the 7% of the population who live more than a mile away from a grocery store and do not own a car. Although the backpack program
Author: Peggy Jones
Grow Your Own Vitamins-Sweet Potato Project 2018 Rowan County has a population of 20,898 as of 2010 census, 3057 (15%) are seniors that are 55 or older. 18 % of the seniors live in poverty in Rowan County and have limited access to fresh produce. FCS Agent initiated a program in 2017 called Grow Your Vitamins with goal of increasing the consumption of fruits and vegetables. Being in its second year, Extension collaborated with the Rowan County High School FFA, and More
Author: Lynnette Allen
Childhood obesity continues to be a concern in Breckinridge County. School staff and healthcare providers report an increase in the number of youth with diabetes or pre-diabetes and high blood pressure. Because of this the need for nutrition education continues to be a priority. In effort to address these health issues, the Breckinridge County Family and Consumer Science Extension Agent partners with the Breckinridge County Head Start program to provide the LEAP (Literacy, Eati
Author: Karli Giles
During the month of February, the Jessamine County Extension Office presented Healthy Snacks to 18 Preschool classes at Early Learning Village. The goal of the program was to emphasize the importance of healthy foods to eat. This was done by reading The Very Hungry Caterpillar followed by a craft activity. Before reading the book, the students were asked to name good, healthy foods and the answers were: broccoli, apples, carrots, pickles, pizza, hot dogs, and cake. Students were asked to raise t
Author: Angie York
According to Psychology Today, more children than ever before are showing signs of being “bad.” The article discussing how to counteract rudeness in children calls kids today “ill-mannered, whiny, selfish, arrogant, rude, defiant and violent.” The article also goes on to explain how these early actions are predictors for severe behavior issues that will come later. In order to help change the negative behaviors in children, preschoolers at the Lyon Coun
Author: Andrea Slone
According to the Center for Disease Control, in 2016, Kentucky’s adolescent obesity ratings were at 18 percent, 44.6 percent reported consumer less than one fruit daily, and 42.7 percent reported consuming less than one vegetable a day.In efforts to increase fruit and vegetable consumption in Floyd County, the Floyd County Family & Consumer Science Agent collaborated with Floyd County Youth & Development, and University of Kentucky SNAP-ed program in the Super Star Chef program dur
Author: Charles May
Children living in Perry and surrounding counties served by UK’s Robinson Center (RCARS) rank at the absolute bottom of the Robert Woods Johnson County Health Rankings for overall health outcomes. Perry County ranks #116 from 2018 data. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention list childhood obesity as a contributing factor to many health issues. The CDC states that one way to combat childhood obesity is to consume a diet high in vegetables and fruits. RCARS along with Perry Co
Author: Kayla Watts
Children living in Breathitt and surrounding counties served by UK’s Robinson Center (RCARS) rank at the absolute bottom of the Robert Woods Johnson County Health Rankings for overall health outcomes. (Breathitt #120, Wolfe #119, Owsley #118, Leslie #117, Perry #116. 2018 data). The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention list childhood obesity as a contributing factor to many health issues. The CDC states that one way to combat childhood obesity is to consume a diet high in vegetables
Author: Mary Beth Riley
According to a national survey of secondary family and consumer sciences programs the enrollment in a Home Economics class or Family and Consumer sciences class has gone down to 38% fewer enrolled over the past 10 years. This means that less students are receiving the opportunity to learn basic life skills such as food safety, cooking skills, recipe reading and meal planning. Basic life skills such as cooking techniques, food safety and meal planning should be taught at an early age i
Author: Deborah Shepherd
Twelve Casey County youth participated in a Super Star Chef Youth Cooking Camp Summer 2018 hosted by U.K. Students under the Nutrition Education Program SNAP-Ed summer teaching program and the Casey County Family & Consumer Sciences program.Youth gained a variety hands-on skills in healthy foods and nutrition; My Plate; nutrition label reading; adapting recipes; reading and following recipes; and healthy menu selection.In addition youth practiced a host of life skills. They utilized s
Author: Dayna Fentress
In Hardin County, what started as a conversation between the Family and Consumer Sciences agent and the Farmers’ Market board president became a population kids activity that saw over 600 children over the course of the summer. The "Power of Produce (POP) Club" was an interactive taste kitchen and activity center aimed to bring more youth and their parents to the market. With help from the UK School of Human Environmental sciences FCS mini-grant, POP Club was born. POP Club
According to the CDC, in recent years children are eating more fruits, but are still not reaching recommended daily intake for vegetables. In order to help preschoolers understand the importance of making vegetables a significant part of their diet, the Family and Consumer Sciences Agent in Lyon County initiated movie night for all Lyon County preschoolers. More than 40 children and their families attended a showing of the movie Ratatouille. By incorporating the antics of the movie charact
