According to the Center of Disease Control Logan County has an obesity rate over forty percent. Logan County is a larger rural county with a lot of access to fresh local grown produce. However some families are on limited budget and have limited resources. To reach a population of diverse individuals that typically do not grow a garden or get to eat local grown fresh produce due to lack of resources the Agriculture and Natural Resource agent and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Educator Assistant partnered together. They partnered with Lifeskills Industries to complete a community, raised bed garden for the individuals of Likfeskills Industries. 

Lifeskills Industries is a workshop and center for the mentally handicapped to work, get involved in the community and teach them skills for life. The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Educator Assistant teaches cooking classes at Lifeskills using the Healthy Choices for Every Body curriculum from University of Kentucky Nutrition Education Program and food demonstrations. Individuals from Lifeskills will assist in the food demonstration to cook the food. The Agriculture agent taught the participants how to plant, and maintain the garden. She also discussed the importance of eating fresh local grown produce verses highly preserved canned goods from grocery stores. During the “Knowing the Limits” nutrition lesson the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Educator Assistant discussed the importance of fresh local grown produce by not having the sodium, fat, added sugars or added preservatives than canned goods. This was a great lesson for the participants due to majority of them have pre-existing conditions of high blood pressure and diabetes. During the “Planning Meals and Food Budgeting” lessons individuals gathered the concept of saving money by growing their own produce in the garden. During food demonstrations the individuals would check the garden to see if there was an ingredient they could use for food demonstration for the lesson that day. They loved the aspect of growing their own food. 

By Lifeskills Industries individuals participating in this program positive outcomes were reached by fifty percent increased consumption of vegetables and fifty percent increased consumption in variety of vegetables per a week. Fifty percent ate more meals at home, and seventy-five percent increased improvement on comparing food prices more often. Seventy-five percent increased physical activity by at least thirty minutes or more each day. 

Participants gained knowledge, independence, and self-confidence by participating with the Farm to Table program. Participants are more likely to try a variety of foods now because they are tasting different of foods growing in their garden.