When the current Nutrition Education Program (NEP) Assistant joined the staff in LaRue County in 2023, an excellent partnership was developed between NEP and Family & Consumer Sciences (FCS) Extension.  The NEP Assistant and FCS Agent teamed up and immediately started planning and implementing nutrition education programs for the citizens of LaRue County, both youth and adult audiences.  Since then, there have been countless programs developed in order to serve the mission of the Kentucky Nutrition Education Program and Cooperative Extension which is to provide nutrition education to limited resource families with young children and SNAP eligible individuals to plan nutritious meals on a limited budget.   In addition, the team also educates the community on how to acquire safe food handling practices, improve food preparation skills, and change behavior necessary to have a healthy lifestyle.  

Some examples of SNAP-Ed/EFNEP programs that the team has partnered to offer are: 

1. LEAP (Literacy, Eating, Activity for Preschool/Primary) in every preschool, kindergarten, 1^st & 2^nd grade classroom in the county including LaRue County Headstart (reaching 676 students)
2. Cool School Cooking Class – annual summer day camp at local elementary school coordinated by Family Resource Youth Service Center (110 students annually)
3. Life Skills Cooking with Exceptional Education students with physical and mental disabilities (18 students)
4. FACS of Life Nutrition Classes with 6^th grade students at local middle school (14 students bi-monthly)
5. Cooking Through the Calendar recipe demonstrations (monthly) at the Extension Office and streamed live via social media (reaching 275 monthly)

Each year, the NEP assistant and FCS agent discuss and plan programs that will meet the needs of the community.  The programs mentioned above are only a sample of the many partnerships the team has developed and continues to offer.  Many of the programs designed use already established curriculum such as LEAP, Teen Cuisine, Kentucky Nutrition Education Program resources, Plan Eat Move website and resources and Professor Popcorn.

Delivery methods vary but most are done within the classroom during the school day with the exception of Cool School which is held during the summer in the school cafeteria.  Lessons are followed as laid out in the curriculum including hands-on demonstrations and recipe sampling.  Careful consideration is given when selecting curriculum and lesson plans as to the audience of the group.  For example, LEAP materials are designed for pre-K through 3^rd grade while Teen Cuisine is designed for upper grades.  Our schools are also all Community Eligibility Provision schools meaning that 40% or more of students qualify for free or reduced lunch, therefore, all students in LaRue County serve as a target audience for nutrition education programs. 

Programs are marketed through a joint partnership between the schools and Cooperative Extension.  Each school has a designated representative that communicates directly with Extension in order for these programs to be offered.  

During program implementation and at the end of each program, questions are presented and surveys are distributed to evaluate and engage participants in the success of the program.   Specifically, upon completion of the Life Skills Cooking with Exceptional Education program, survey results showed that 83% of the youth improved their frequency of drinking soda, ate whole grains more frequently, and made healthier choices in general. Through the partnership with the local middle school, a grant was recently awarded to the program by the Kentucky Farm to School Challenge in the amount of $330.  Additional funding is provided by the SNAP/EFNEP funds offered to agents for nutrition education which covers all costs of recipes and food demonstrations.    

These programs plan to be offered for the foreseeable future as the partnerships continue to grow and strengthen with our local school system and Extension clientele.  Plans to develop additional opportunities at the local middle school are in the works once the school completes renovations of a working kitchen for middle school students in the Exceptional Education program.