Author: Clarissa Cheatwood
Planning Unit: Jefferson County CES
Major Program: Nutrition and Food Systems General
Outcome: Long-Term Outcome
A group of women living in a residential, substance use recovery center in Jefferson County had limited access to healthy foods and many had a not eaten balanced meals for a while due to their addictions. Some of these women consumed very little water and fresh fruits and vegetables, and consumed a high amount of sodas, sugary drinks, sugary cereals, high fat and high calorie foods. The center coordinator contacted the Jefferson County Cooperative Extension Service to request nutrition education programming to teach nutrition and food preparation skills to the women, as they were required to prepare the dinner meal daily for everyone to eat. The Nutrition Education Program Assistant started nutrition classes with these women every Monday for one hour. The Healthy Choices for Every body curriculum was used , along with ice breaker activities and recipes from the Nutrition Education Program calendars. During these classes, the women learned about My Plate, what our bodies need from each food groups, how to keep food safe and shopping, storing and preparing food. They also learned how to read the nutrition facts labels and ingredients. The women participated in the class by cutting fresh fruits and vegetables, making half of their grains whole and changing to low fat dairy products. They were very receptive to the education and the reinforcement items that they were introduced to during the food demonstrations. The women were always happy to see the Nutrition Education Program Assistant and were helpful in preparing for the class, cleaning up and helping the new attendees with completing enrollment forms and 24-hour food recalls. They were very proud of themselves for completing the seven lessons, graduating from the program and receiving their certificate. 40% improved in their diet quality, 53% improved in food safety, 61.5% improved in food security. They shared that they couldn't wait to get back home to their families and start using what they learned and the gift bag of reinforcement items at their new apartments.
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