Family and Consumer Sciences Extension encourages families to make proactive choices to improve individual health and well-being, whether choosing a low fat, nutritious diet, increasing health literacy for chronic disease prevention, or participating in regular physical activity. Recipe Club is a monthly mailing that addresses health and wellbeing, how to eat a nutritious diet, increasing health literacy while promoting chronic disease prevention.

Each month the FCS program area sends the Recipe Club newsletter by mail and by email. The newsletter includes several SNAP eligible recipes, flyers for cooking classes and upcoming events, and articles related to chronic disease prevention. The target audience for this newsletter is any and every Boyle County resident who may have or have high risk for chronic diseases such as high blood pressure, diabetes, heart disease and any other nutrition related illness. The target audience also includes but is not limited to Danville Housing Authority residents, people who receive SNAP, WIC, EBT and/or Senior Vouchers.

Currently there are 136 people receiving the Recipe Club newsletter. There are 70 copies mailed and 66 receive it by email. Aside from the mailed and emailed copies, Recipe Club reaches 175 households through the commodity food box distribution. Copies are also available up front at the Extension Office. Impact on participants include 90% of recipients have used or planned to use the recipes provided. Recipients reported becoming more aware of Extension programming and services. Of the mailed/emailed recipients, 28% of them have attended an Extension program after hearing about it through Recipe Club. Most recipients also reported learning something new and/or interesting from the monthly newsletter.

Resources used include the FCS program assistant, marketing materials for NEP, and FCS marketing materials such as Healthy Choices Newsletters, Agent Exclusives, and news release articles. Volunteers at the First Christian Church help pack the newsletters in the commodity boxes. Danville Housing Authority employees hand deliver the newsletters with the commodity boxes to their residents. There is also a link to sign up for Recipe Club on our website and social media pages.