Muhlenberg by the Numbers

The Muhlenberg County Cooperative Extension Service provides practical education by helping individuals, families, and communities solve problems, develop skills, and build a better future. Muhlenberg County, KY is a county in the Western Kentucky Coalfield. The population of the county is 30,816. The adult poverty rate is 19.6%, and the child poverty rate is 35%. 

 The Muhlenberg County SNAP-Ed paraprofessional taught sixty four limited resource families how to serve more nutritious meals, to keep foods safe, and the utilize local food resources effectively. 100% of the families that completed the minimum of 7 lesson Nutrition Education Program: Healthy Choices for Everybody made an improvement in the nutritional quality of their diet. 

Families enrolled in the Healthy Choices curricula showed at 58.6% improvement in Food Resource Management skills. 70% of the families learned to plan meals ahead of time, while 47% stated they used a grocery list more often to guide food selections. 56% of families tried to compare food prices more often and 64% of Muhlenberg County families cook dinner at home more times per week.

Overall 55% of families in the Nutrition Education Program showed improvement in their Food Safety behaviors, with the largest increase of 83% of families use a meat thermometer more often to check for doneness in cooking.  

40% of families made improvements in Food Security. 44% of participating families were able to use community food resources, such as food pantries, less often due to increased skill at food resource management.

With the assistance of the Family and Consumer Sciences agent and volunteers, the SNAP-Ed Assistant presented the LEAP(Literacy, Eating, Activity, for Primary) to all kindergarten and first grade students in the county school system. 527 students completed the program and 94% of children showed improvement in one or more core areas.

The SNAP-Ed Nutrition Education Program in Muhlenberg County enlisted the help of 19 community partnerships and 33 community volunteers to reach out to limited resource families to improve skills, and change behaviors necessary to achieve good health and well being  for families in Muhlenberg County.