During the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020 and 2021, in-person programming was not always possible due to social distancing requirements. Social media and virtual platforms like Zoom and Google Meet allowed the Jefferson County Cooperative Extension Service SNAP-Ed (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Education) to reach SNAP eligible clientele in a different way. The SNAP-Ed Assistant taught seven groups at a men’s substance recovery center using an online meeting platform due to covid restrictions limiting in-person programming.

The seven-week program provided education on a variety of topics, including nutrition, food resource management, food safety, portion control, and physical activity using the Healthy Choices for Every Body Curriculum. The SNAP-Ed. Assistant was able to purchase and deliver recipe ingredients for group members to prepare as a demonstration for the group. The SNAP-Ed. Assistant also showed cooking and Garden to Table videos, had clients make menus using MyPlate, and did games like Name That Produce, describing the fruit or vegetable and having them guess the produce and GO, SLOW, and WOW, describing foods and seeing if they are high in fat, sugar, or salt.

 Seventy-one men, ranging in age from 21 to 70, completed the program between October 2020 and May of 2021, and showed a 90% positive change in eating and drinking healthier foods and beverages.