Author: Kelly Burgess
Planning Unit: Allen County CES
Major Program: Nutrition and Food Systems General
Plan of Work: Improve Physical and Mental Health
Outcome: Initial Outcome
Consuming the recommended amount of vegetables each day is linked to a reduced risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes, some cancers, and obesity. This equals 2 to 3 cups of vegetables a day, depending on age and gender. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, only 6.3 percent of adults in Kentucky meet the daily vegetable intake recommendations. In order to increase vegetable consumption in Kentucky adults, the Allen County Extension office hosted the workshop Sensational Salads for the Mammoth Cave Area Homemakers Association as the May Club Lesson topic. Emphasis was placed on learning different types of salad greens and how to add other nutritious foods to turn a salad into a complete meal. This lesson was delivered deliberately in May to encourage participants to patronize local farmers markets and purchase fresh, local lettuce varieties to further increase health benefits. The session was taught via Zoom, and counties were encouraged to host “watch parties” for their local Homemakers in order to keep numbers low in accordance with COVID precautions. Thirty one participants from Allen, Barren, Hart, Logan, Metcalfe, Monroe, Simpson, and Warren counties participated in the Lesson Leader training, each of which took the information back to their club audiences. For those unable to attend live, the session was recorded and sent out to all Mammoth Cave Area Homemakers as a YouTube link (11 additional views), and printed materials were provided to at-large members and club members unable to access technology or meet together. Of those surveyed, 100% percent indicated they better understood the nutritional value of salad greens, and 94% percent stated they better understood how to select, prepare, and/or store salad greens. 94% percent indicated they could identify ways to add color, texture, crunch, and/or more nutrition to a salad. Further, 94% percent expressed the intention to try a new type of salad green or salad component to add more nutrition to the diet, and 88% percent plan to incorporate more salads into meal planning and food preparation as a way to increase vegetables in the diet. Of the participants who returned the evaluation piece, the most common comment was that their favorite part was the demonstration of “massaging your kale” and how that changed the color, texture, and flavor to make this generally less-acceptable green more appetizing!
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