According to the 2018 County Health Rankings and Roadmap, 36.3% of Martin County’s adult population were considered obese.  Today, about half of all Americans have one or more chronic diseases, often related to poor diet. KentuckyHealthFacts.org reported 14% of Martin County adult residents have a prevalence of diabetes and 60% with a prevalence of hypertension.  

To address the issue, The Supplemental Nutrition Education Program partnered with Mountain Comprehensive Care Therapeutic Rehabilitation Program to offer a 7 week program, Healthy Choices for Everybody. The class consisted of 12 men and women, with a majority being low-literacy. This is the man contributing factor to their struggles in making healthier lifestyle choices. The class focused on buying and preparing healthy foods, developing healthy cooking skills, managing SNAP benefits, food safety and the importance of physical activity.

As a result of this program, 82% of participants made improvements to their overall diet quality, 97% made improvements in physical activity, 89% improved in food safety practices and 88% showed improvement in food resource management. Post evaluations revealed the following positive changes: “I can fix healthy foods at home because of this class.” “Thank you for helping me to believe in myself.”