During this current Covid-19 crisis, families are faced with the challenge of stretching their income to pay bills and purchase groceries. There is a growing need for a strong knowledge of food budgeting and stretching their food dollars.

The Meade County Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program assistant offered a Healthy Choices for Every Body Facebook Live Program to families that were looking for some new ideas on how to stretch their budgets. The program was provided live, once a week, for seven weeks within a closed group on Facebook. There were six participants, ranging from ages 33 to 55 years old. Each week a different lesson was offered. Topics that were offered included; nutrition, meal planning, food safety, food budgeting, and the importance of physical activity. At the end of the lessons, the assistant conducted a cooking demonstration of a healthy recipe. After completing the seven lessons and the behavior surveys, the participants received insulated grocery bags filled with kitchen tools to help them become more efficient with their meals.

At the end of the program behavior change included; 80% are cooking more meals at home. Shopping lists and coupons are being used 100% more often! Several of the participants asked when the next program would be starting. One participant said, “I liked that it was very informative and gave me great ideas for dinner. I really like how easily I could keep up even just listening in! Thank you so much for taking the time and helping keep us healthy!!”