According to Kentucky Health facts, only 19 -  23% of Metcalfe County Residents consume the recommended # of servings of fruits and vegetables daily.  The prevalence of individuals diagnosed with type II Diabetes is 20%, which is 4 percentage points higher than the State average.  
Each preschool and kindergarten classroom at Metcalfe County Elementary School, received six different LEAPS sessions using different books, from the Metcalfe County Extension Agent for FCS Education, SNAP-Ed and regular program assistants during the 2017/18 school year.  LEAPS was presented to over 200 youth participants and 15 adult volunteers.   Each child received the LEAPS newsletter that corresponded with the book read, in their backpack and were asked to look at it with their parents at home that night, talk about the book we read and foods they tried at school.  
We focus on sampling a fresh or minimally processed fruit and/or vegetable that is related to the story read, with each classroom.  Teachers have reported that their students become more open minded about trying new foods and in particular fresh fruits and vegetables, after they participate in LEAPS sessions offered annually by FCS Extension and SNAP-Ed, in Metcalfe County.  Many students indicate that they have never tried fresh fruits such as pineapple, mango, kiwi and other less common fruits and vegetables such as avacados, jicama and garbanzo beans - items that we now commonly sample in various forms with our LEAPS program.  Three books from the NEW LEAPS series, were utilized during the spring 2018 semester with all preschool and kindergarten students present, at Metcalfe County Elementary School.