A newfound partnership between Body Dynamics Fitness Center in Alexandria, KY and a Campbell County Cooperative Extension Supplemental Nutrition Education program assistant resulted in a free nutrition education series available to the public. Ten fitness center members, in conjunction with the Silver Sneakers program, understood the importance of 30 minutes of daily physical activity; however, many expressed the value of learning more about nutrition and, particularly, food safety. Product recalls and food-borne illnesses are common in today’s news. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there are an estimated 47.9 million food-borne illnesses, 127,839 hospitalizations and 3,037 deaths per year in the United States due to food-borne illness (Morris, 2011). Five out of ten participants indicated that they “never” use a meat thermometer before taking the program.

Participants participated in the Healthy Choices for Every Body series for seven sessions over a two month time-span ranging in topics from MyPlate, Eating Better on a Budget, Food Safety and more. These lessons were always accompanied with a food demonstration with recipes like Strawberry Beet Smoothie, Autumn Sweet Potato Chili and Melon Salsa to allow for food safety discussion.

Seven out of ten (70%) participants began using a meat thermometer more often after learning more about food safety and properly using the tool. Participants expressed their newfound appreciation for the importance of safety practices at home and how food safety fits into a healthy lifestyle. According to data from a University of Kentucky Food and Nutrition Specialist, every person that receives education regarding some aspect of food borne illness prevention, saves their state an estimated $1,000. Potential savings to Kentucky citizens, businesses and government, due to food safety education included in this Healthy Choices for Every Body series is $10,000.

Morris J. How Safe Is Our Food?. Emerging Infectious Diseases. 2011;17(1):126-128. doi:10.3201/eid1701.101821.