The Garrard County Family and Consumer Sciences Agent worked toward providing materials and resources to the community of Garrard County during the coronavirus pandemic. The FCS Agent used multiple outlets to give support to the community. Those outlets include the Garrard County Family and Consumer Sciences Extension Facebook page, a weekly article in the local paper, Central Record,  pick-up kits for youth, resource packets for the Senior Citizen Center, Garrard County Food Pantry, Senior Commodity recipients, Garrard County School meal distribution sites, Lancaster/Garrard Farmer’s Market, and online videos for clientele. All of these opportunities provided educational resources to the community. Although packets of information have been distributed to Seniors, Farmers Market clientele and Food Pantry recipients on a continuous basis from before the Covid-19 shut-down, other efforts such as reaching out to School meal service recipients was new during the shut-down. and extra efforts to increase Facebook posts were added. FCS agent used online platforms to continue engaging the community in Garrard County. Below is the reach from each of the efforts:

The Garrard County Family and Consumer Sciences Facebook page had a small increase in followers since March 2020. On the Facebook page, online programs from the University of Kentucky Family and Consumer Sciences page, educational articles, videos, and information from the Garrard County Extension Office were shared. From March 16th to June 30th, over 2,000 individuals were reached with the Garrard County FCS Facebook page.

Twenty eight hundred individuals were reached weekly with Central Record articles. Articles included localized information about: Trimming Expenses with Income is Tight, Responding to Emotional Eating, Save Money and Relax by Rediscovering Hobbies, Ways to Spend your Stimulus Check, Buying Pantry Staples, Grilling, Why Boredom is Important for Children and many more.

Seventy-nine needlework kits were made for youth and picked up at our office. The kits were for Redwork, Free Embroidery, Latch Hook and Counted Cross Stitch. Each kit was accompanied by a video posting on 4-H Facebook demonstrating techniques and how-tos.

Over 30 Farmers Market packets have been distributed that included recipes, hand washing and produce information. The FCS Agent and the SNAP-Ed Program Assistant also collaborated on making two videos and Food Kits to distribute to SNAP-Ed eligible youth in public housing. Fifty Kits were distributed seven different weeks. We are continuing this through the summer. The goal is to reach out to under-served audiences during this time.

The FCS Agent also collaborated with the Fort Harrod FCS Agents to provide an online survey to access our clienteles’ best methods of receiving educational info during the months following the shut-down. We are learning what information clientele responding to the Facebook survey want and so we can better meet their needs.

The Garrard County Family and Consumer Sciences Agent is planning to continue an online presence this summer. More instructional Zoom meetings teaching needlework are planned along with providing kits to be completed outside of in-person classes. Joint videos with NEP Assistant are also planned.