Because of in-person meeting restrictions, the Lincoln County Extension Office has moved to incorporate virtual options and independent study pick-up kits. This has allowed clients to stay engaged and provided new opportunities for Extension Programs to involve the entire family. All Lincoln County Extension Staff members worked together to plan and implement a week-long Pumpkin Palooza event for the last week of October. Families signed up in advance and received a kit with most of the supplies needed to make two recipes and two crafts, along with pumpkins to carve for a pumpkin decorating/carving contest. Kits were picked up the week before and families joined programs led by staff members live on Facebook each day at 2 p.m. Also included in the kit was an information packet that contained pumpkin facts (growing, nutrition, etc), additional recipes, pumpkin-themed activities for youth, and much more. There were 27 families and over 100 participants for the event. At the conclusion of the program, participants were surveyed, and results indicated the following:

• 93% tried a new recipe featuring pumpkin as an ingredient
• 100% increased their knowledge of the nutritional value of pumpkins
• 73% learned a new kitchen skill 
• 87% of families reporting worked together to complete at least one project in the kit
• 93% of respondents said participating in these activities encouraged our family to spend more time together

One parent shared the following: “I appreciate all the ideas and I know you spent a lot of thought and effort organizing this. Me and my boys plan on trying and making other recipes and ideas that we didn’t do yet, so thanks for your hard work.”