Success StorySocial Recipes



Social Recipes

Author: Julia Wilson

Planning Unit: Hart County CES

Major Program: Plate It Up! Kentucky Proud

Plan of Work: Accessing Nutritious Foods & SNAP-Education

Outcome: Intermediate Outcome

FCS Agents in the Mammoth Cave Area had received many inquiries about popular online recipe videos. (i.e. Tasty videos). Clientele spoke to the ease of following the recipe videos and loved sharing them with their friends. Clients asked if there were recipes available in similar format from Cooperative Extension. In addition the Mammoth Cave Area is made up of rural counties. Many clients in these counties do not have access to public transport to attend food and nutrition classes at their local extension office. The Mammoth Cave area Family and Consumer Science agents created eight fast- framed overhead recipe videos to meet the request of the clientele. The videos featured seven Plate it Up! Kentucky Proud recipes, and one SNAP Nutrition Calendar recipe.

Recipe videos were filmed overhead with the use of smartphones, tripods, and lighting. The Edmonson County FCS Agent set and and managed equipment while the other agents made the recipe. Videos were then edited by the Edmonson County FCS Agent with computer software to include text overlay to describe ingredients and steps in the video, along with upbeat music. The video sequence speed was increased to make each video approximately one minute in length. Pre-recorded and edited videos were shared on County Extension Facebook Pages, Plate it Up! Kentucky Proud Facebook Page, Plate it Up! Kentucky Proud YouTube Channel, Edmonson County Extension Pinterest, and Edmonson County Extension Instagram. Each agent in the Mammoth Cave Area utilized the videos differently. In two counties the videos were used on social media to promote local produce at the farmers market during the season. In Hart and Edmonson Counties the videos were used in collaboration with an online walking and fitness program.

The videos reached 16,785 people. According to analytical data 92% of viewers were in Kentucky while the remaining were viewers from Tennessee, Texas, North Carolina, Ohio, Illinois, Michigan, Maine, Washington, California, Georgia, Florida, and Mississippi. Analytical data also shows the audience was 83% female and 17% were male and the audience ages ranged from 25 to 64. Three county offices reported that 27 clients came in looking for more recipes after seeing the videos. One client quoted “I love the videos because I know real people (not professional chefs) are making them so that means I can too! The recipes are easy to follow and I can save them to use later. They make the recipes look good. I would have never picked up the recipe for Farmer’s Market Skillet bake. After seeing the video though I had to try it!”



**Social Recipes was submitted and was selected a 1st Place National Winner and 1st Place Southern Region Winner in the NEAFCS Annual Awards Program. A concurrent session will be taught  at the 2019 NEAFCS National meeting by some of Mammoth Cave Area FCS Agents.