Leveraging SNAP-Ed Connection for Policy and Programs USDA Food and Nutrition Information Center http://snap.nal.usda.gov

What is the SNAP-Ed Connection? The SNAP-Ed Connection is a resource Web site designed to support SNAP-Ed educators and administrators. SNAP-Ed Connection is funded by the USDA Food and Nutrition Service and is maintained at the National Agricultural Library through cooperation with the University of Maryland. SNAP-Ed Connection, as the name implies, is a unifying Web site for all SNAP-Ed programs. Historically we have focused on the FNS guidance and supporting nutrition education activities. But we’ve been hearing from you, that you want more program and policy support. We think we may be able to help you, but we need you to tell us exactly what you are a looking for. So, we are here today to give you a brief overview of what we are currently offering and to give you the opportunity to tell us what other products and services you want. As you hear about what we offer, please think about whether this is useful to you and if not, what you would like to see in it’s place. Some questions to keep in mind are: What can we do on our Web site that would make your programs better? Or your policy activities easier? Is there something on our site that is not working for you? Or hard to find? What sections would you keep? What sections would you get rid of? I will include an email address at the end. The whole SNAP-Ed Connection team is here today, Jennifer Mitchell, Rachel Tobin and Jordyn Geller. We will be here throughout the conference and at our exhibit table in the Gallery, please feel free to speak with any of us. If you are in a session on Wednesday or Thursday and have an idea for how this web site could help with whatever you are discussing, come find one of us or send us an email.

Recipe Finder We have a Recipe database of over 600 simple, healthy and low-cost recipes.

Recipe Finder We analyze the nutrition content and estimate the cost of each recipe. The database is available in English and Spanish. It is also searchable by many different categories and keywords, as well as by recipe cost. We are also in the process of adding about 200 recipes.

State SNAP-Ed Contacts Our State SNAP-Ed Contacts page contains contact information for every state agency and implementing agency. Because each state has its own page, we also started adding Web sites and newsletter information to the state page.

State SNAP-Ed Contacts Here is an example of the Maryland page.

Resource Finder Our Resource Finder contains over 300 reviewed nutrition education materials. SNAP-Ed programs share program materials by submitting their resources to SNAP-Ed Connection; then we add them to the database. If your SNAP-Ed funded programs have materials that you are proud of, please submit them to us so that we can share them with other programs.

Resource Finder You can read a review and detailed information about each resource, and find ordering information and whether it is available for download. We are in the process of re-designing the Resource Finder. If you have any suggestions for what would make this better for you, please tell us.

FNS Guidance Every year we post the Food and Nutrition Service Plan Guidance and supporting documents. This coming year you will also find links to other pages on our site that have information to help you implement the guidance.

Photo Gallery The photo gallery contains high quality copyright-free images related to nutrition and nutrition education.

Topics A-Z Topics A-Z is an index of food and nutrition-related topics. It used to be called Hot Topics. Each item takes you to a page with links to reliable information related to that topic.

Click n’ Go Click n’ Go is another nutrition education section of our site. It contains pages that have links to electronic resources that an educator can quickly print and use in an educational setting, or use online. There are many topics including meal planning, shopping and budgeting, physical activity, healthy foods, and food safety.

Click n’ Go Here is an example of the Fruits and Vegetables page, which has links to activities, fact and tip sheets, presentations and videos, and web sites.

Nutrition Through the Seasons Nutrition Through the Seasons is a recently redesigned area of our web site. It has information on seasonal topics, a calendar of monthly food observances and a seasonal produce guide with 55 fruits and vegetables. Additionally, we have a section called Healthy, Thrifty Holiday Meals. Right now it focuses on November and December holidays, but over the next few months we will be adding menus for over 30 holidays or events, complete with cost estimates. We will be enhancing this section over the next year, so if there is something you want related to seasonal nutrition, please tell us. One idea we are exploring is an interactive map that would contain seasonal food and nutrition information by geographical area.

Professional Development Tools Our Professional Development Tools section contains links to webinars, a conference calendar, a page with links related to program evaluation and more.

Topic Pages We have many Topic Pages on our site that contain links to information related to those topics. Some of the Topics are Evaluation Apps & Games Community Approaches to Nutrition Education Ice Breakers And Food Demonstrations

Eat Right When Money’s Tight Our most popular topic page is Eat Right When Money’s Tight. It contains links to tip sheets and other areas of our site where you can find information on how to make the most of a small food budget. We are also considering enhancing this topic area of our site, since this seems to be a very popular and important topic.

Communications There are many ways to keep in touch with us. We have a listserv for people who are part of the SNAP-Ed program called SNAP-Ed Talk. SNAP-Ed – related topics are discussed on this listserv. The e-Bulletin is a new initiative this year and is open to the public. The e-Bulletin highlights resources available on our Site, successful SNAP-Ed programs, as well as notable national SNAP-Ed news. If you are a state or implementing agency contact, please watch for an email in the next month or two asking you to send e-Bulletin subscription information throughout your network, including to county-level folks. We are working to get all SNAP-Ed personnel connected through the e-Bulletin. You can also follow us on Twitter and get links to different areas of our web site.

Contact Us SNAP-Ed@ars.usda.gov http://snap.nal.usda.gov Thank you very much. Now we have some time for you to give feedback. We welcome all feedback, whether positive or negative. In addition to this time, please stop by our table. If you browse our site or give us your opinion, we will give you a SNAP-Ed Connection lunch bag. You can also register for our e-Bulletin at the table and tell us more about your ideas for our Web site. Questions: What is missing from this site? Is there something that we could offer that would help with policy activities? Or program activities? Or education activities? Are there any sections of this Web site that seem obsolete to you? We have heard many requests for program evaluation information. What exactly does that mean to you? Do you want links to more information? Do you want courses? Do you want to know how to hire a contractor? Do you want handbooks? If you use this site, do you have a hard time finding certain things? When do you come to this site? What do you want to find? Are there any sections that seem promising, but don’t have what you are looking for? We are thinking about some larger projects this year, a mobile site, a seasonal food and nutrition interactive map, we have a few app ideas as well.