The Magoffin County SNAP-Ed assistant works with five groups at the local Senior Citizens Center. The participants seem to think they have been “around the block” and know what is best for their diets; however, when it comes to milk they found out differently. The SNAP-Ed assistant taught the Healthy Choices for Everybody section on Dairy for Everybody and discussed the calories and fat content in different kinds of milk. When comparing whole, 2%, 1% and skim milks, many of the participants responded that they were not going to drink that stuff (milk) because it tastes too watered down.  No one wanted to believe her when she told them that it was difficult to tell the difference between 1% milk and 2% milk.

 The SNAP-Ed assistant decided that the only way to prove her point, was to do a milk tasting test using whole, 2%, 1% and reconstituted powered milk (skim). Of the 22 group participants, 100% got the whole milk and powdered milk correct; however, the 1% and 2% was a quite different result, as only 12% were correct.

After the taste test, the participant who made such a big deal said, “We stand corrected, you were right, they (2% milk vs 1% milk) do taste a lot alike.”  In the end, the SNAP-Ed assistant convinced 50% of the clients to switch to 1% milk to reduce calories and fat intake.