Author: Velma Mullins
Planning Unit: Laurel County CES
Major Program: Accessing Nutritious Foods (general)
Outcome: Long-Term Outcome
According to the Center for Disease Control, foodborne illness affects about one in six Americans (or 48 million people), leading to one hundred twenty eight thousand hospitalizations and three thousand deaths every year. The Nutrition Education Program is a program offered by the Cooperative Extension Service that provides instruction for limited resource individuals and families to improve the nutritional quality of their diets, food safety and food resource management. The expanded food nutrition education program assistant and the Family and Consumer Science agent in Laurel County partnered with a local church to provide lessons on food safety and food resource management.The nutrition program assistant discussed food safety topics which included: the importance of washing hands and surfaces, buying, storing and preparing foods to keep them safe. The agent taught families to help them have monies so they could have food and not run out before the end of the month. Five hundred families from the local and adjoining communities came to the church to participate in the Free for All programs. Other activities included: educational lessons, games for children, free haircuts and free food and food baskets to take home. Many families stated what they learned. One male wanted to know if his food in the car would be safe after he participated in the other events the church had for participants. He had eggs, hamburger, chicken and other perishables in his car. The nutrition assistant told him to go get the items and the church allowed him to put his food in the refrigerator. Many participants learned they should not keep their food out for more than two hours and one hour if ninety degrees or more. Another lady thought her refrigerator should be forty five degrees instead of forty or colder. Many lifelong changes were learned. Food safety and resource management practices improved the quality of many families.
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