Kentucky now has the fifth highest adult obesity rate in the nation, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Hopkins County is ranked 4th highest in the state for childhood obesity and 54th out of 120 counties for overall health outcomes according to 2016 data from The State of Obesity report on Kentucky. To address this issue the Hopkins County Extension Agents for Family and Consumer Sciences and 4-H Youth Development, partnered with the Health Department, and West Area Health Education Center (West AHEC), to offer youth the opportunity to participate in a healthy foods program at a selected elementary school in the county.

The committee was granted approval from the Hopkins County School System to provide samples of healthy foods to all 446 students and adult school faculty and staff at West Broadway Elementary School over four days. The youth and teachers had the opportunity to try snap peas with ranch dressing, fruit smoothies, whole grain fruit muffins, and turnips with ranch dressing.

The target audience was pre-school through fifth grade. The L.E.A.P. curriculum was utilized with the youngest students and each week all 390 students were given a newsletter (with a healthy recipe) and health incentives such as toothbrushes. The school’s library was also given new curriculum for the school.

Students were also surveyed, with 371 completing the survey. The nutrition program resulted in:

91% tried at least one new food, they had never tried before!
64% of youth surveyed said that since the program, they have eaten at least one of these new foods at home.