The property manager of Wynnbrook Pines Apartments contacted the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP-Ed) Nutrition Education Program (NEP) Assistant from the Kenton County Cooperative Extension Service to offer a basic nutrition/cooking class for her residents. The SNAP-Ed Assistant taught the Healthy Choices for Every Body curriculum as a seven session series. The class was made up of multi-generational families who were raising children. The Assistant taught the participants the importance of making healthy food choices, reading labels, practicing food safety, and meal planning and budgeting. As a part of each class the Assistant prepared a healthy recipe that the participants got to sample and take the recipe home so they could prepare it for their families. One participant admitted that he did not like trying new foods, and he was surprised when he liked each dish that the Assistant prepared. 

According to a Web-Based Nutrition Reporting System (Web-NEERS), the participants improved their diet quality (36%) and their food safety practices (48%) as a result of the class. They also improved in their food resource management skills (30%) which included meal planning, making a grocery list, and checking their cupboards before going shopping. One gentleman said, “This class is stuck in my head. It took me two hours to shop at the grocery this week because I was reading every food label before putting it in my cart.” After the Know the Limits lesson, he said, “I need to go home, throw all the food in my kitchen away, and start over with healthier foods.”

Another participant said, “I am diabetic and I have been off-track for a year-and-a-half. This class has put me back on track. Thank you!” One participant even lost a few pounds because she cut out soda, started eating healthier, and started walking as a result of the class.

As a result of the nutrition series’ success, the Property Manager and the NEP Assistant are making plans to offer another series for adults at Wynnbrook Pines at a different time of day to attract more residents and to offer a nutrition series for the children in the apartment complex next summer.