The 2019 Kentucky Annual Economic Report states, “during the 2015-2017 period, there are no states with food insecurity rates that are statistically higher than Kentucky’s.” Food insecurity is characterized when one or more family member’s food intake is lessened due to lack of money and other food resources.  Concurrently, 14.7% of Kentucky’s population received Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program funds, with the rate ranking higher than the U.S. percentage average of 12.9%.  Combating this crisis locally, the Butler County Nutrition Education Program Assistant partnered with Andrea’s Mission for Women receiving SNAP benefits.   

The Butler County NEP Assistant taught clients Healthy Choices for Every Body focusing not only on meeting USDA dietary guidelines but also food resource management and food insecurity.  The goal was to teach the participants how to efficiently and effectively budget their SNAP benefits while eating healthily. Lessons were taught weekly to the facility for nine months with 31 women completing the program.  Sixty-five percent of the participants showed improvement in one or more food insecurity indicators such as eating less or having enough money for food.  Also, 26 of the 31 participants showed improvement in one or more food resource management practices.  That is 84% with an increase in knowledge of cooking dinner at home, comparing food prices, planning meals before shopping, looking in refrigerator and cupboard before shopping, or making a grocery list.  Each of these indicators reduces the chances of exhausting SNAP benefits prematurely allowing the participants to decrease their occurrence of food insecurity.

The Butler County Nutrition Education Program Assistant, Andrea’s Mission for Women, The Butler County Family and Consumer Science Agent, and the Butler County Cooperative Extension Service combined resources and efforts resulting in the food quality and healthy food consumption and improved resource management of the clients.