According to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Education 2018 Annual Report 39% of Kentuckians suffer from hypertension.  The poverty level in Kentucky is 17.2 %. Many families in Kentucky resort to food that may be less nutritious due to the cost which results in buying less expensive processed foods. To address the issue of families buying processed foods the Logan County Extension Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Education (SNAP-ED) Assistant, partnered with a local church to teach families how to cook healthier meals at home.

The Logan County SNAP-ED assistant utilized the Healthy Choices for Every Body curriculum and Nutrition Education Program calendar recipes to teach the program at the church on five different days. Individuals were engaged in learning by having the hands on experience to prepare and sample the food, as well as discussing ways to modify food for their family needs. During the series of classes children also attended and gained knowledge on how to cook as well.

Individuals and families gained knowledge on limiting fat, sodium and sugar from processed foods in their daily lifestyles by using the test tubes to see how much sugar is in a 12oz soda, or how much salt is in luncheon meat. The group as a whole discussed that the majority had hypertension issues. They decided to omit the sodium in all of the recipes while cooking. At the end of the class a family commented on the recipe binder that was given to them for attending the classes referencing the “Enchilada Rice” recipe and how it sounded really delicious. They contacted the Logan County SNAP ED Assistant stating “we love our recipe binder; we have also made Enchilada Rice twice this week. It is helping me feed my family of 8 this summer!”  Everyone in the class agreed that you can have nutritious, inexpensive foods by cooking at home instead of eating out or buying meal kits to cook at home.