Author: Brenda Cockerham
Planning Unit: Johnson County CES
Major Program: Small Steps to Health & Wealth
Plan of Work: Making Healthy Lifestyle Choices
Outcome: Intermediate Outcome
In 2015, 27% (6,349 residents) of Johnson County received SNAP benefits; this was a 27.6% increase since the year 2007. Johnson County Family and Consumer Sciences (FCS) continues to deliver programs on the health, nutrition and food security topics. The type of food we eat, and the way we prepare it, as well as the costs of each meal is a consistent priority for the FCS program. The local newspaper joined the effort by advertising all programs to the public free. Working as a team, the SNAP-Ed Assistant, the FCS Assistant and the FCS Agent, delivered 19 sessions on foods, nutrition, health and fiscal management. The FCS program conducted Small Steps to Health and Wealth and Plate It Up Programs. The Lunch and Learn sessions were accessible to clients who normally would not be able to attend Extension programs due to work. The Small Steps to Health and Wealth curriculum addresses healthy and economical food choices and wise financial management decisions. Each lesson builds on the concept of making small changes over a long period. “Plate it Up” series introduces affordable meal ideas made with products that could be grown at home, or purchased from the Farmer’s Market. The SNAP-Ed assistant prepared the featured recipes and discussed preparation tips, nutritional elements and the value of the nutrients in the recipes. The Nutrition Education Program calendar, which featured a seasonal recipe that are affordable and tasty, each month, was used. 116 adults attended one or more programs with an average of each person attending eight programs per year. The participants included young mothers with children to seniors. All of the participants recognize the relationship between health and wealth, tracked their spending habits and set one or more health and wealth goals. 83% implemented one or more action steps within 30 days. Individual goals included: eating healthy to lower blood sugar levels and lose weight, walk more, go to the eye dr. , don’t skip meals, don’t spend money on things that I don’t need, exercise, stop spending impulsively, eat out less, let everyone contribute, plan spending better, quit buying things that I won’t use, diet, use coupons, decreased credit card use, not wasting money at yard sales, and not allowing a “30 year old grandson” continuing to impose. In addition to the lunch and learn series, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Education (SNAP-Ed) assistant reached 3,555 of Johnson County limited resource residents in 2017. Through leadership development, Johnson County Extension Homemakers raised funds to support the backpack program (referred to as “Soul Food”), Meals on Wheels and a food emergency fund they support for victims in crisis. These united efforts have yielded successful outcomes of local people eating better and managing their funds more wisely.
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