Marion County Cooperative Extension Office partnered with our local public housing. As the Expanded Food and Nutrition Program assistant, I was asked to do a series of programs with them. I started with our new curriculum, Healthy Choices for Everybody.  The program was offered once a month. The seven required lesson were taught along with a couple others.

At the beginning of each lesson, we would start out with one of the ice breakers where participants really got to know each other.  The lesson would then follow as well as a food demonstration and tasting of a recipe. After a series of the lessons, the ladies voiced how they were making changes in their diets, how they prepared meals and how they really started to pay attention and budgeted their money.

One of the ladies shared that because of the budget lesson, she now compares prices of newspaper ads and uses coupons each time she goes to the grocery. One lady quoted that she was really paying attention to her portion sizes and not over-eating at each meal. Another lady stated that she is now teaching her two daughters about making healthy choices when they cook at home and when they go to the grocery. She also noted that without the help of the Expanded Food Nutrition Classes she would have never made such a great transition in her preparation of meals at home with her children.