In the past the Marion County Expanded Food Nutrition Education Program Assistant had the ability to reach clients by doing in-person lessons and demonstrations. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit many of us had to think outside of the box to come up with a new way to reach clients who were either staying healthy by limiting the number of people that they physically came in contact with. We are very fortunate that the Marion County Cooperative Extension Office Facebook page could be used to reach clients. Each week the Nutrition Education Program Assistant provided clients with food cooking demonstrations using recipes from Wally Cat and the 2020-2021 Food & Nutrition calendar. Thanks to the demonstrations that started October 8, 2020 the Marion County Cooperative Extension Office Facebook page has seen an increase of 75% in page likes, 40% increase in page followers, 60% in post engagements and a 72% increase in video views. We have experienced a number of video comments such; “Ms. Juanita you do a wonderful job. I love your cooking shows!!”, “We love these videos” and “Yummy!”

Thanks to the Expanded Food and Nutrition Program and Facebook cooking demonstrations the members of our community have had access to healthy food recipes, healthy eating tips and cooking tips from the comforts of their own home. The Expanded Food and Nutrition Program and Facebook have allowed the members of the community to still feel like they are a part of the Marion County Extension Office even if they are not able to visit the office physically.