Knott County is currently described as the fourth unhealthiest county in the state of Kentucky.  In 2015, 5,165 residents received SNAP benefits with 91% participation percentage.  An estimated 5,113 residents in Knott County live in poverty with 1,398 of those being children.

The Knott County Nutrition Education Program (NEP) paraprofessional taught 70 limited resource families how to serve more nutritious meals, to keep food safe and to utilize local food resources effectively. 73% of NEP families made an improvement in the nutritional quality of their diet. 

98% of NEP graduate families showed improvement in at least one aspect of their diet because they planned meals using My Plate, considered healthy choices, and used the” Nutrition Facts” label. 64% of families increased the frequency of moderate physical activity for 30 minutes per day. 49% of families reported having enough money to last the month for food since learning how to budget better. 65% of families demonstrated an improvement in safe food handling practices and hand washing behavior.

Nearly 90% of families learned to plan meals ahead of time and use a grocery list to guide food selections. A 77% improvement was shown in food price comparison behavior. Families showed a 39% decrease in not having enough food to eat all they wanted. There were 39% fewer families who could not afford to eat properly.