Consuming enough fruits and vegetables as part of an overall healthy diet reduces the risk of many chronic diseases, including cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, some cancers, and obesity. However, according to a 2015 study conducted by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the percentage of the adult population meeting fruit and vegetable intake recommendation is relatively low (CDC: 2015).

This year, the Floyd County Cooperative Extension Office Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program partnered with the Highland Terrace assisted living facility. The Nutrition Education Program’s “Healthy Choices for Every Body” curriculum was used. This curriculum helps to teach limited resource adults about the importance of healthy eating and physical activity. Another tool to encourage healthier eating habits was NEP’s recipe calendar. The Highland Terrace group really enjoyed anticipating and knowing what we were going to cook that day. They would show up for our lesson so excited to help cook and taste test our finished product. Often times, skepticism about adding a certain fruit or vegetable to an otherwise traditional recipe was usually met with remarks like “Wow, I never would have thought that would taste so good in this recipe” or “I’m really surprised at how good this turned out”. The recipe calendar really helped to get the participants to try healthy, good meals that they otherwise wouldn’t have tried on their own. Upon graduation from the program, eighty-five of the participants increased their overall consumption of both fruits and vegetables.