Author: Jacqueline Walters
Planning Unit: Family and Consumer Sciences
Major Program: Nutrition and Food Systems General
Outcome: Intermediate Outcome
Feeding America projected Kentucky to be among the top ten most food insecure states in 2021, at 15.1%. As in the rest of the United States, food insecurity in Kentucky was exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic. During the previous year, many Kentucky families who had never experienced food insecurity previously found themselves relying on public assistance and food pantries for sustenance. Unfortunately, recipients of donated food often didn't know how to prepare what they received. The University of Kentucky Nutrition Education Program forged a partnership with Feeding Kentucky to help address these issues. Through this agreement, Feeding Kentucky would inform the Nutrition Education Program in advance about what foods would be distributed. The Nutrition Education Program identified recipes for those food items which were tested for quality and cost-effectiveness, and recommended for use by the SNAP-eligible audience. On a month-by-month basis, a list of recipes recommended for use with current food items being distributed by Feeding Kentucky is made available to agents and program assistants at the local level. Since June, 2020, over 320,500 appropriate recipes and nutrition information have been distributed to Kentuckians receiving supplementary food.
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