In March of 2020 the COVID-19 pandemic forced new regulations on individuals and businesses forcing many families and Individuals to increase their time at home and away from others.  We felt it was important that we find new and exciting ways to continue to reach clientele and serve the community in Grant County.  The Grant County Family and Consumer Science Program offered several new programs, and adapted others to continue to serve the residents of Grant County.

Remote programming that was offered included:

Snail Mail Mail Outs:  

We provided two new weekly mail outs with one geared toward children and the other toward adults.  We were able to mail out information, healthy recipes, Local COVID resources, gardening supplies, family activates, and much more!   Through the Snail Mail Mail Out program we were able to reach around 70 individuals and families every week.

Program Series on Facebook:

We have adapted the Weight the Reality Program, SNAP-Ed Curriculum, and Small Steps to Health and Wealth programs for an online audience. By offering programs such as these individuals can remain socially distant, but they are still able to receive the lessons, converse with others in the program, and learn in a new online community setting.

Grab bag programs:

Two types of grab bag programs were offered for families and individuals to pick up.  One was focused on physical activity for families and youth, and the other was for the Victory Garden Program which encouraged families to start their own gardens to help with food insecurity.  These grab bags included information, as well as supplies for activities and gardening for families to do at home while remaining socially distant. We have given out 123 grab bags to individuals and Families.

New weekly paper column:

In addition to our current weekly spot in the paper providing nutritious recipes, the Grant County News has now started to publish activities for youth and families weekly.  These activities focus on health, nutrition, food science, and physical activity.  Through this new outreach we were able to encourage parents and guardians to teach their children that were at home through simple and inexpensive activities.

Through these new and modified programs we were able to not only continue to reach most of our regular clientele, but also reach new clients that had not previously been involved in Extension or Family and Consumer Sciences programming.