A newfound partnership between the Calvin A. Perry Community Center and a Campbell County Cooperative Extension program assistant resulted in a free nutrition education program available to the public. The willingness of six Campbell County residents to make a healthy change was evident on day one, but many expressed not having the knowledge or tools on where to begin to make that change. According to the USDA, there are an estimated 48 million food-borne illnesses and 3,000 related deaths each year in the United States. Knowledge on food safety was a special concern with many indicating that they only rarely or sometimes use a meat thermometer when preparing dishes at home.

Participants participated in the Healthy Choices for Every Body curriculum for seven sessions; including in-depth round table discussions between participants, group activities to reinforce topics, and hands-on cooking demonstrations.

Five out of six (83%) participants began using a meat thermometer more often after learning more about food safety and properly using the tool. Four out of six (67%) participants also began thawing foods properly and thawing frozen food at room temperature less often.