Allen County

Nancy Owens, SNAP-Ed Assistant

Cooking with the Core

To eat vegetables that they normally wouldn’t eat. To increase water intake of each participant. To increase physical exercise. Increase participant’s knowledge of food safety. In Allen County the youth do not get the recommended physical activity. According to the State of Kentucky Nutrition, Physical Activity and Obesity profile 28.8% youth watch 3 hours of television on an average school day. According to the center of disease control the childhood obesity rate for Kentucky is 14 in the state. Healthy Choices for Everybody program was conducted by the Allen County Extension Service in collaboration with Allen County Health Dept., Allen County School System, The Core of Scottsville and Need More Acres.

Each child was given a pedometer. The children walked from the Core of Scottsville to the Allen County Extension Office on Fridays. Participant at each session had a log were they could keep record of the steps that they took while walking. Over a four-week period four- two and half hour classes were conducted to demonstrate with fifty-eight youth at the Allen County Cooperative Extension Facility. Classes included food demonstration focusing on healthy snacks, such as vegetable pizzas, swiss chard lasagna, chocolate pumpkin snack cake, orange smoothie in a bag,. During these demonstrations each youth participated in making their healthy snack. I also demonstrated the proper way to wash hand. Also demonstrated the proper way to wash the counters and the cutting boards to keep the food safe. To increase physical activity levels. After the healthy snack demonstration thirty minutes of different physical activities were conducted at each session. Activities including jumping rope, walking and measuring steps, my plate game with different cardio, flexibility and strength building activities. At the end of the first week an elevation was conducted to measure group physical activity. Thirty-seven out of fifty-eight was participating in at least thirty minutes of physical activity at home. A walk this way challenge was given to increase physical activity at home. The participants were provided with a pedometer and a walk this way activity form to document their steps. The participants had to walk for a week and document their steps. Thirty-seven out of fifty-eight evaluations were returned with 100% increase in physical activity level at least thirty minutes per day five or more days. The steps that were reported for that week were 3,128,737 steps. Several parents reported that children during that week watched no T.V or played a game systems. 81% of the children improved their abilities to choose healthier foods. 81% Children and youth use safe food handling practices more often or gain knowledge. 100% Children and youth improve their ability to prepare simple, nutritious, affordable food or gain knowledge. 100% of the water intake was demonstrated during each class water was given to the children for them to drink. Sometimes they would drink one to two glasses of water. Also at the end of the classes there was a farmers market set up so that when the children tasted fruit and vegetables, they received farmer’s market bucks to purchase fruit and vegetables to take home to their families.