Nutrition education is now a program responsibility of all Kentucky Extension agents. For many ANR agents the bulk of their SNAP efforts are done through local farmers’ markets, but that opportunity isn’t present in Todd County since there is no farmers’ market. Therefore, I have utilized other avenues to conduct nutrition education activities.

 Twice in the past I have worked with residents of the Todd County Housing Authority’s Pennyrile Village apartments on community gardens. When we did those earlier gardens, we had difficulty in keeping them worked, particularly with chopping out weeds. 

 For the summer of 2017, I decided to try something different--a small container garden utilizing large cattle protein lick tubs for the containers. These tubs have a capacity of about 18 gallons, which is plenty of soil for most plants. Special Miracle-Gro container soil was used as the growing medium, so we didn't have any problems with weeds. The tubs were set up in a central area close to the mailboxes, and they were planted with tomatoes and bell peppers. Several residents assisted with planting the containers and with keeping them watered over the summer. Altogether, approximately 20 to 25 residents gathered and used produce grown in the containers. Several of the residents had not gardened before and were unsure of how to set tomato or pepper plants; so this planting effort was an good demonstration opportunity.

 I also purchased 40 pounds of tomatoes and 25 pounds of bell peppers and distributed them to Pennyrile Village residents when I was doing the solar eclipse safety training at the apartments last August.

 At March’s middle school Agriculture Day, I presented to 168 sixth graders the USDA guidelines for healthy eating through discussion and activities centered on the food groups and portion guidelines on USDA’s My Plate. In order to make the learning experience more personal, I illustrated the relationships that exist between the foods represented on My Plate and the crop and livestock products grown in their own Todd County community. At the eighth-grade Reality Store activity, I discussed with 147 young people the concept of eating balanced meals (usually at home) as a nutritious and economical way of feeding oneself and family. As the Reality Store food options clearly demonstrated, eating out usually costs more than eating at home, and folks eating out are less likely to eat a balanced diet or consume reasonably-sized portions.