Kentucky State University Center for Family Nutrition Goes Virtual!

Over the past 100 years, Cooperative Extension has made strides with farmers, families, and communities through direct, research-based education.  In fact, much of the success of Extension programming is due, in part, through the strong relationships developed between Extension professionals and stakeholders.   Whether it’s agricultural, environmental, nutritional, or health education, the cornerstone of Extension programming has been that personal contact. However, with the advent of COVID-19, it has become apparent that while these direct contacts will still be important, mobile and virtual education will be an imperative for the future

Groups have been looking at the effectiveness of virtual programming and education for some time now.  In 2016, researchers from Iowa State University demonstrated that online education promoting food safety to senior adults was quite successful and a viable model moving forward (https://joe.org/joe/2016february/tt8.php).  In 2007, when podcasting was a relatively new technology, it was demonstrated that Extension programs could use this “new” technology to improve Extension programming (https://joe.org/joe/2007october/tt2.php).  Again, in 2010, it was recognized that podcasting, along with other means, could be a viable tool to disseminate education (https://joe.org/joe/2010august/a7.php).

In addition to this, we see that in 2015 that mobile devices, specifically smartphones, were becoming more common in the farming community.  At that time, 69% of farmers reported owning a smartphone, 47% owned a tablet, and 99% sent or received text messages (https://www.agweb.com/article/87-of-farmers-will-own-a-smartphone-by-2016-NAA-ben-potter).  In addition, as of 2020, nearly 70% of farmers use some type of social media including Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube (https://blog.farmmarketid.com/blog/how-farmers-use-social-media).  In response to this growing demand for virtual educational programming, and due to the mandatory quarantines, the Kentucky State University Center for Family Nutrition began to implement virtual programming through various social media outlets including Facebook and Instagram.  One of these initiatives was entitled Friday’s 5 in 5.

Friday’s 5 in 5 is a weekly teaching series covering nutrition, health, and fitness where in approximately five minutes, the State Specialist for Nutrition and Nutrition Education gave five simple tips to encourage healthy living.  From April to June, 13 videos were created that covered the elements of Choose MyPlate, pantry staples, outdoor fitness, and more.  At the end of the first season, we were able to measure the effectiveness of the video series through episode views as well as anecdotal feedback.

Over the course of three months and 13 videos, Facebook statistics demonstrate that each video received between 190 and 380 views, depending upon the topic.   In addition, each video was shared within our service counties, on the Thorobred Nutrition Facebook page, as well as the Kentucky State University Land Grant page.  In addition to this numerical feedback, there have been interest in developing other video series, as well as implementing a nutrition podcast program, in addition to continuing and expanding the current series.   Tentatively, we will be beginning a monthly “webisode” called Adventure Kentucky that picks out different places throughout the state where families can get outdoors and stay active.  In addition, the video series will cover health and nutrition information as well.  In addition, Hungry, Hungry History is a podcast that touches on the historic aspects of food and health and will serve as a discussion with different guests that are experts in their field.